Central Banks
State Bank of Pakistan slashes rates to decade low
Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra strikes upbeat note despite inflation falling significantly below target, as central bank cuts interest rates by 100 basis points
Colombian paper examines synchronisation of economic cycles in Latin America
Central Bank of Colombia working paper finds there is ‘not a high’ level of synchronisation between a sample of seven Latin American countries
Croatian central bank calls for solution to Swiss franc mortgage quandary
Bank argues local households with liabilities denominated in the rising currency must receive help but suggests it is not the right to institution to tackle the issue
Leading central bankers unsure about impact of technology on monetary policy
Carney, Kuroda and Coeure debate the elusive Phillips curve in Davos; rejecting ‘technological pessimism', Carney says ‘just catching up is a huge opportunity of growth potential'
BoE's Forbes says few MPC members are 'perennial hawks or doves'
External member lays out key risks to Bank of England's central forecast, including stronger US growth, lower oil prices, and exchange rate pass-through
Mersch lays out path to capital markets union
ECB executive board member says harmonised regulation and ‘institutional adjustments’ needed in Europe; suggests change in securities markets
Riksbank profits safeguard independence, first deputy says
Kerstin af Jochnick says low interest rates will hurt profits in coming five years but adds central bank has buffers to guarantee its ability to perform vital tasks
Eichengreen says central banks should worry more about deflation than 'profits and losses'
The Berkeley professor on what last week's SNB move says about big central banks 'wrong-footing' markets and the Fed's problematic response to financial crisis
Ingves: Europe facing peer pressure on Basel III
The chair of the Basel Committee is counting on peer pressure to bring Europe into line with Basel III, but regulatory experts are not convinced it will work
Attack on Central Bank of Libya condemned by UN
United Nations criticises ‘armed attack’ of a central bank branch; institution is caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival ‘governments’
Obstfeld warns emerging markets face dual trilemmas
BIS working paper dissects emerging markets’ ability to resist monetary policy spill-overs, finding the demands of monetary and financial trilemmas make self-defence difficult or impossible
BoE’s Gracie expects cyber attacks to breach defences
Building an ‘impermeable perimeter’ is unrealistic; institutions would be wise to focus instead on quick identification and response to threats, says executive director for resolution
Former Sri Lankan governor's passport seized by anti-bribery commission
Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who stepped down on January 9, is ‘prevented from leaving the country' as government cracks down on ‘corruption' under former administration
Basel Committee signals shift towards Basel III implementation
With Basel III standards largely finalised, the Basel Committee’s 2015-16 work programme indicates focus on implementation and efforts to shore up confidence in capital ratios
Carney says eurozone QE 'absolutely necessary'
Bank of England governor says it will ‘create some of the necessary conditions’ for returning prosperity to the eurozone; discusses distributional consequences of monetary policy
ECB launches quantitative easing
Mario Draghi unveils additional asset purchase programme that will see the ECB buy sovereign and agency debt; a ‘large majority’ of governing council backed decision
Venezuela to adopt new currency exchange system
Venezuela’s president announces changes to the country’s three-tiered currency exchange system, adapting the higher rate to market fluctuations
BoE’s Miles: Monetary policy 'does not hold all the cards'
Monetary policy cannot be expected to achieve price stability 'in isolation from things fiscal’, argues David Miles, MPC member at the Bank of England
Danish central bank cuts rates for second time this week
National Bank of Denmark lowers deposit rate for second time in four days following ECB action; central bank will defend euro peg ‘vehemently', says analyst
Swiss gain greater access to renminbi markets in new deal
SNB and PBoC ink deal on RQFII quota for Switzerland and establish renminbi clearing in the country; latest in a string of agreements aimed at renminbi internationalisation
New core inflation measure proposed in IMF paper
Measure proposed by researchers from IMF and Central Bank of Brazil takes into account both volatility and persistence, ensuring all relevant information is exploited
Lagarde: Divergent monetary policy could be a good thing
It could be 'helpful' for the global economy if the ECB eases more as the Fed starts tightening, Lagarde tells an audience in Davos; Summers warns eurozone QE not 'sufficient'
EBA chairman says supervisors should break up unresolvable banks
Supervisory entities ‘should have the guts’ to break up an unresolvable bank, European Banking Authority chairman Andrea Enria tells Davos audience