Central Banks
New Zealand paper calls for clearer financial stability aims
Researchers argue more guidance is needed on how and when macro-prudential policy will be used, pointing to the lack of hierarchy between distortions
Bank of Greece foresees ‘uncontrollable crisis’ if talks fail
Central bank weighs in with bleak prognosis for life without the euro as talks go to the wire; next Eurogroup meeting on June 18 offers last chance
PBoC top committee brings in seven fresh faces
China's central bank reshuffles top committee for second time this year, bringing in heavy-hitters from government and academia
ECB’s Mersch dismisses concerns over T2S launch at weekend
ECB executive board member admits a few bugs remain in Target2 Securities system, but argues they are not major and will not interrupt this weekend’s migration
Ireland to phase out one- and two-cent coins
Central bank will lead project that will see cash payments rounded to discourage use of low-value coins; decision follows successful trial in 2013
Japan regulators further relax electronic trading mandate
JFSA is initially going to mandate only three tenors of IRS for platform trading
BoE staff costs rose 6% in 2015, annual report shows
Growing number of senior staff added to central bank’s wage bill for the year; Mark Carney turned down pay rises but still received package worth nearly $1.4 million
RBA minutes note mixed signals for policy
Slight slowdown globally and nervousness over Greece and US rates offset by ‘solid’ lending growth, stronger employment and improved sentiment
Overconfident forecasters may be ‘overrepresented’ in ECB survey
Working paper finds participation in the Survey of Professional Forecasters drops when uncertainty rises, suggesting the results may be biased
EU court rules OMTs are legal
ECB is vindicated as ECJ rules in favour of crisis measure that would see the central bank buy potentially unlimited amounts of sovereign debt to protect ‘singleness’ of monetary policy
Bank of Israel launches journalist briefings as part of transparency drive
Central bank begins quarterly briefings of journalists and adds new publications as part of ongoing efforts to improve communications; follows consultations with other central banks
Market participants cheer FEMR recommendations
Dealers, customers and platforms all welcomed the outcome of the long-awaited review
RBA’s Kent says transmission mechanism seems to be weathering shocks
‘Headwinds’ are working against the Australian economy but the evidence implies the monetary transmission mechanism ‘is about as effective as usual’, assistant governor says
IMF's Blanchard urges compromise in Greek negotiations
Both sides need to make tough choices but more funding and some form of debt relief necessary, says IMF chief economist; Mario Draghi emphasises need for long-term EU institutional change
Draghi defends ‘distributional consequences’ of QE
ECB president suggests easy monetary policy will benefit all citizens in the longer run; economists describe impact on inequality as “ambiguous” in research prepared for Econ Committee
Bank of Russia cuts key rate and moves to replenish foreign exchange reserves
Central bank continues easing cycle with 100bp cut, while stronger ruble gives room to replenish reserves
Governor wants freer thinking at 65-year-old Bank of Korea
Juyeol Lee hints at coming shake-up, calling for openness to ‘creative ideas’ as central bank prepares to set new inflation target
BoE minutes help markets shape expectations, paper finds
Working paper published by ECB finds markets make use of minutes when forming short-term expectations, but relationship breaks down over longer horizons
Nowotny considers ‘human costs’ of structural reform
National Bank of Austria governor challenges economists to think about the quality of economic growth, suggesting this could have implications for the pursuit of structural reforms
BIS researchers find evidence of macro-pru and monetary policy cancelling out
Study of macro-prudential policy in South-east Asia shows policies work best when used in same direction; paints complicated picture including ‘some evidence’ of spillovers
BoE’s McCafferty says UK not yet in ‘true deflation’
External MPC member says ‘dangerous but rare’ deflation has not taken hold in the UK, although inflation expectations have shifted down slightly