Central Banks
Stelmakh to remain Ukraine chief for now
National Bank of Ukraine governor Volodymyr Stelmakh will remain in office for the time being having overstayed term limit by three months, according to new prime minister
Senators table Volcker rule legislation
Bill would ban prop trading for large banks and impose limits for big non-banks
Fischer offered second term: reports
Local media says premier Netanyahu has asked Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer to stay on
Buba’s Weber dismisses Volcker rule
Bundesbank president Axel Weber says Paul Volcker’s plan will have unanticipated effects and interfere with monetary policy transmission, says sticking with Basel II is best
Trichet keeps open mind on European Fund
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet says more details must emerge before making a firm decision for or against a European monetary fund
The US banking practices falling behind
Boston Fed study urges US to invest more in payments technology to cope with the demands of the digital age
NY Fed’s Sack prepares market for smooth exit
Markets head Sack says tightening cycle “like no other in history”
Canada names Longworth’s successor, deputy Duguay to retire
Bank of Canada appoints special adviser Jean Boivin as deputy governor to fill vacancy created by David Longworth’s retirement, Pierre Duguay also to leave the central bank
SNB reveals Stabfund portfolio
Swiss National Bank says Stabilisation Fund holds about 4,800 positions in five currencies, bulk of assets backed by real estate
SARB will not be nationalised: Treasury
South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan dismisses talk of placing the central bank under state ownership, condemns shareholders’ tactics to force state takeover
RBA’s Lowe latest to dismiss inflation target hikes
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Philip Lowe says IMF paper’s suggestion of raising inflation targets not sensible, says higher targets would damage supply side
SEC chief economist quits for private sector
Securities and Exchange Commission head economist James Overdahl will start as deputy head of a Washington consultancy at the end of March
China to keep up T-bill purchases; cautious on gold
State Administration of Foreign Exchange chief Yi Gang says the country will not rely excessively on gold, adds that political relations with US will not affect Chinese treasury holdings
Kansas Fed heralds more stable banking sector
Stress indicator for financial sector shows further decline in February, moving it closer to its long run average
BoE’s Barker on the future of policymaking
Kate Barker draws on her nine years of service at the Bank of England to highlight some of the challenges facing policymakers
BoJ’s Nakamura declares ordinary policy tools redundant
In a high profile speech in Fukuoka last month, Bank of Japan’s Seiji Nakamura tells business leaders that ordinary channels of the transmission mechanism are not working
Weber signals ECB could relax debt rules
Comments come after Austrian governor deemed power of rating agencies unacceptable; paves way for ECB to accept Greek debt even if downgraded
Fund economist: Lost Decade shows need for higher inflation targets
IMF economist Daniel Leigh points to evidence from Japan’s Lost Decade that shows hiking targets would have shorn output losses
ECB names new statistics head
European Central Bank says Aurel Schubert of the Austrian central bank will be the new chief of its statistics directorate
Interview with Takatoshi Ito
Takatoshi Ito, a professor at the University of Tokyo, discusses whether recent comments by Japan’s finance minister undermine the central bank’s independence