Central Banks
Bank of Portugal governor calls for a European monetary fund
Costa believes such an institution is the only way to ‘guarantee stability’ in Europe; ESM head Regling says current model has created ‘successful status quo’
PBoC continues leadership reshuffle
Two assistant governors appointed at the People’s Bank of China; swap lines agreed with Australian and South African counterparts
Nigerian reserves head believes renminbi can ‘complement’ euro and dollar
Lamido Yuguda discusses the benefits of a multipolar system and how the Central Bank of Nigeria is managing its renminbi investments in a new book
IMF paper proposes refinements to potential output estimation
Researchers use an adapted ‘multivariate filter’ that aims to improve upon other methods of estimating potential output, although they admit the result is probably only the ‘least worst’ option
People: New deputy in Pakistan; BoE’s Cornish leaves PRA
State Bank of Pakistan promotes chief economic adviser; founding board member of the Prudential Regulation Authority steps down; Uruguayan governor and deputy confirmed; and more
Lagarde warns mediocre growth could become ‘new reality’
The "global recovery continues, but it is moderate and uneven", argues the IMF managing director, warning mediocre growth has the potential to become the "new reality"
Global economy in ‘unprecedented scenario’, says Linde
The global economy faces an "unprecedented scenario", including "risks to financial stability and possible highly volatile movements in the prices of financial assets", says Bank of Spain governor
Portuguese parliament reshapes central bank governance
The next governor of the Bank of Portugal will face tougher parliamentary scrutiny on appointment in June; central bank board must now comprise at least 33% women
‘Abolish currency to eliminate lower bound’ argues Buiter
Former BoE MPC member and Citigroup chief economist says scrapping currency is one way to push interest rates deep into negative territory – although there may be more practical solutions
FX regulator probes AUD spike prior to policy announcement
Australia's authorities look into sudden moves in the Australian dollar's value ahead of RBA monetary policy announcements
Malaysia launches new payments system to boost online transactions
Malaysia’s central bank aims to simplify online payments with new ‘JomPAY’ platform, which has the goal of reaching 5,000 merchants by 2020 and reducing usage of cash and cheques
Varoufakis defends reshaped Greek reform agenda
Greek finance minister says extension bought time for a ‘serious conversation’ with creditors and outlines ways in which he wants reforms to differ from troika prescriptions
Fed research: Three channels of shadow banking fragility
Working paper models the increased fragility created by shadow banks, even though they provide higher levels of credit to the economy
ECB research assesses fiscal impact of bailouts
ECB paper analyses the impact on a government’s fiscal position of assistance measures; finds majority of the financial needs (4.9% of 5.1% of GDP) were recorded is first three crisis years
FOMC minutes: Fed cautious about June rate hike
Minutes highlight split in views of those who think rates should rise in June and those who would rather wait; Dudley and Powell give speeches urging care
Brazil’s inflation climbs to 8% despite rate hikes
Annual CPI inflation hit 8.13% in March, the highest since 2003, due to a double-digit hike in energy prices; central bank is expected to continue to raise interest rates
Korea’s record rates have further to fall, says economist
Rate cuts still look to be on the horizon despite the Bank of Korea holding steady at record lows today, says economist; government also likely to have to provide further stimulus
Chilean paper analyses unemployment’s impact on wages
The impact of unemployment spells on wages is high, but the volatility ‘increases much more during recessions’, research finds
Bank Negara Malaysia and MIT Sloan to set up joint business school
The Asia School of Business will open next year on the central bank's premises; will host inaugural class of 25-35 students in a two-year MBA programme
Central Bank of Argentina publishes secret minutes from last dictatorship
Argentina’s central bank releases minutes from secret board meetings during the country’s last dictatorship, which will "shed some light on one of Argentina’s darkest periods", says governor
Russia’s Nabiullina dismisses QE possibility
Bank of Russia governor says quantitative easing is not on the table but further rate cuts are likely; sees signs that tough policy stance is working as ruble begins to recover
Former Bulgarian deputy charged with ‘abuse of office’
Rumen Simeonov accused by prosecutor of not taking action on failed Corporate Commercial Bank despite knowing the institution was in trouble