Central Banks
Climate change on BoE research agenda
Bank of England says research could examine how central banking can ‘play a role’ in addressing systemic environmental risks; conference panellists consider issue
Paper tackles US inflation puzzle with new Phillips curve
Authors of research published by IMF find core inflation movements can be explained by anchored expectations and short-term unemployment “stories”
BoE panellists: Central banks need better understanding of policy interactions
Policy-makers are already having to cope in practice with a ‘tripartite’ mandate while research struggles to catch up, raising the possibility of dangerous blind spots
Spanish paper finds relationship between number of lawyers and litigation rates
Working paper published by Bank of Spain warns not to read too much into results, but finds they are useful in conducting a ‘preliminary’ evaluation of recent reforms
BoE unveils wide-ranging research agenda
‘One Bank’ research agenda seeks to shake up the status quo and help theory catch up with the practice of new central bank mandates and looming challenges
Haldane wants to turn economic methodology on its head
BoE chief economist turns away from deductive methods and towards mining big data in search of correlations, but former ECB research director warns him to temper his enthusiasm
Yellen defends relationship with White House
Fed chair tells congressional committee she did not discuss monetary policy with Treasury secretary or executive branch of government, when quizzed on ‘near-weekly’ meetings
State Bank of Pakistan mulls new target rate
New proposals aim to establish a new ‘target rate’ within the existing interest rate corridor; advisory committee on monetary policy will decide whether to adopt them next month
Barbadian governor in rallying cry on productivity
DeLisle Worrell calls on workers to “contribute more” to the production of goods and services in the Caribbean country; sees lack of engagement as a key challenge
Riksbank board uncertain about negative rate limits
Minutes from executive board meeting that led to negative rates and quantitative easing reveal uncertainty about where floor for repo rate might be
Poloz calls for ‘reinvention’ of central banking
Bank of Canada researching changes to its inflation targeting regime; Poloz asks how best how to incorporate financial stability into framework and avoid ZLB episodes
Lagarde raises doubts over Greek reform package
Troika institutions give Greek bailout package the go-ahead, but IMF managing director says current reform framework ‘is not conveying clear assurances’ in many areas
Forbes asks if BoE’s ‘Midas touch’ has been tarnished
MPC member says low interest rates carry various risks, including falling productivity and rising inequality, but argues the evidence is mixed and such factors are outside the BoE’s mandate
In qualified support of coco bonds
Europe’s supervisors need to develop a code of best practice to support the prudential issuance of contingent convertible bonds, argues Andreas Dombret
Yellen sheds light on lift-off communication
Fed chair discusses how the Federal Reserve will communicate its thought process on policy normalisation; rejects FOMC reform and Audit the Fed bill in congressional hearing
Israel and Turkey cut rates, hinting at further easing
Bank of Israel eases with one eye on the appreciating shekel; Turkey stands by its ‘cautious’ stance on interest rate cuts with 25bp reduction
Carney defends eurozone comments
Parliamentary committee questions appropriateness of BoE governor calling for fiscal union in Europe; Carney admits authorities outside eurozone were keen for him to make the comments
Clearing houses face privacy law concerns
US reporting requirements could force CCPs to break national privacy laws
Research promotes regional approach to financial stability in Asean
IMF working paper says it is ‘equally important’ as regulatory harmonisation; sees potential for vulnerabilities as countries with lower credit-to-GDP ratios catch up with their neighbours
Italian paper: Reforms could lead to earlier exit from ZLB
Working paper examines the impact of competition-friendly reforms in the service sector across the eurozone, finding it could help boost inflation providing investment responds
UK regulators flesh out proposed punishments for bankers
Consultation papers set out details of how presumption of responsibility will work in practice, including narrowed scope, and seek to extend greater protections to whistleblowers