Central Banks
Germans in favour of kicking Greece out: poll
Survey in leading newspaper shows 53% of Germans think Greece should be kicked out of the eurozone if its debt troubles cannot be resolved, 67% want no part in a bail-out
ECB beefs up financial stability wing
European Central Bank readies itself for the establishment of European Systemic Risk Board; appoints director general
FSA’s Turner queries faith in deep and liquid markets
Britain’s top regulator calls for a conservative approach to liquidity, arguing that excessive financial activity is liable to do more damage than good
Mooted Fed policy shift presents dangers
Changing its operating target to the interest on reserves tool could be the best available fix for the Federal Reserve as it implements its exit strategy. But it is a process that poses risks
RBIs Subbarao pillories inflation targeting
India’s governor says crisis has “diluted if not dissolved” inflation-targeting consensus; says fiscal dominance likely to remain
Hungary split on size of cut
Minutes of the Hungarian central bank’s January meeting reveal that three members wanted a larger cut than was ultimately implemented on the threat of disinflation
Riksbank’s Nyberg: cards systemically important
Riksbank’s Lars Nyber says cards are overtaking cash in Nordic countries, but security still an issue
Spending and loose monetary policy cause inflation
CEPR looks for an explanation for UK inflation in the 1970s
Inflation targets must be raised: IMF’s Blanchard
IMF economists Olivier Blanchard, Giovanni Dell’Ariccia and Paulo Mauro call for central banks to revise their price growth targets if they want to avoid crippling deflation
British regulator asks for 10% more funds
Financial Services Authority puts bulk of responsibility to pay up on the bigger banks
China surprises with second reserve requirement hike
People’s Bank of China ups its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points to drain excess liquidity from system
Fifty years of monetary policy
Reserve Bank of Australia’s Glenn Stevens and economists Adam Cagliarini and Christopher Kent document the birth of inflation targeting and look to the lessons from fifty years of policymaking
Monthly bulletin (February) – ECB
ECB’s second monthly bulletin of the year shows a shift away from broad money, both into longer-term assets and narrow money
China’s SWF to take control of its portfolios
China Investment Corporation will increase the proportion of investments that are managed in house, says its chairman Lou Jiwei
British PM heralds global bank levy
British prime minister Gordon Brown flags growing consensus among leaders on a global bank tax following Obama proposals
India’s Gokarn rules out March hikes
Reserve Bank of India’s Subir Gokarn emphasises that, barring extraordinary circumstances, the central bank will not raise rates before April; central bank cracks down on PayPal
Community banks remain crucial for US economy
Chicago Federal Reserve summarises its conference on the impact of the financial crisis on community banks
Fed mulling switch to new policy rate
Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke says officials mooting the use of interest on reserves as benchmark target
Triple A rating “ours to lose”: King
Bank of England’s Mervyn King says downgrade unlikely given Britain’s strong track record and maturity of government bonds
New governor for the Bank of Central African States
Former director-general Lucas Abaga Nchama takes over at the top after the firing of his predecessor, Philibert Andzembe, over an embezzlement enquiry and unexplained losses