Central Banks
RBI report recommends inflation target under new monetary policy framework
Committee set up by Raghuram Rajan in September calls for formal nominal inflation target of 4% to be phased in over two years; also recommends sweeping changes to bank's organisational structure
Vaguer guidance in vogue as unemployment continues to confound
As UK and US unemployment brushes the thresholds of monetary policy forward guidance, central banks' next moves are anything but straightforward
Dombret questions benefit of breaking up banks
Doubts that separation between investment and commercial banking would ensure that lenders can fail 'without disrupting the system'; says 'pure commercial banks' were at centre of crisis
Central banks found research prize in honour of Carl Menger
Deutsche Bundesbank, National Bank of Austria and Swiss National Bank announce the creation of a new prize for economic research, named after Austrian economist Carl Menger
Bank of Israel staff get bump in wages
Recently struck deal raises salaries by 1.78% and also increases wages retroactively for 2012 and 2013; governor Flug recently recieved 50% pay increase after push by former governor Stanley Fischer
Turkish prime minister praises central bank rate hold as lira falls to record lows
PM's comments following bank's decision to keep rates at 7.75%, despite a sharp drop in the lira's value in the past month, raise questions about government's role in monetary policy decision-making
IMF says world economy menaced by US taper and eurozone deflation
Eurozone deflation should be combated by every means available to the ECB, IMF says; emerging market risks from US taper will be overshadowed by benefit from advanced economy growth
People: Zambian deputy retires; Lautenschläger appointed at ECB
Bank of Zambia and Bank of Nigeria lose deputy governors to the ministry of transport and retirement respectively; Sabine Lautenschläger will join the ECB executive board on January 27
PBoC delivers on cash injection promises
People’s Bank of China uses standing lending facility and reverse repos to inject in excess of $37 billion into interbank market; releases statement to prepare market participants ahead of time
Portuguese paper finds banks lend to riskier borrowers when policy rates are low
Researchers find evidence supporting the existence of the ‘risk-taking channel’ of monetary policy; banks will grant more loans to companies with recent defaults when rates are lower
RBA inflation target mitigated terms of trade macro shocks
Researchers at the Reserve Bank of Australia argue that the country’s inflation targeting framework helped to mitigate the macroeconomic consequences of the recent terms of trade boom
BoE's Miles finds market context decisive for QE impact
Impact of QE working through a portfolio rebalancing channel is weak in an environment of 'functioning financial markets'; implications for purchases made in dysfunctional markets unclear
Chinese labour costs set to play significant inflation role
Researchers suggest that increases in labour costs do not pass ‘fully’ through to prices in China; warn this could change on the back of ‘recent sizeable growth’ in nominal wages
Sri Lanka overhauls banking sector
Central Bank of Sri Lanka reveals plans to concentrate financial assets in the hands of five banks, and reduce the number of non-bank financial institutions by almost two-thirds
IMF warns recapitalisation of Slovenian banks is a 'stop-gap solution'
Report urges deeper reforms of under-capitalised corporate and banking sectors; says ECB comprehensive risk assessment expected later this year could expose additional capital shortfalls
Bank of Italy slims down organisational structure
The central bank will consolidate its various operations into eight directorates general on January 27, in a bid to ‘streamline’ its organisational structure and decision-making processes
Kohn says Fed's independence 'at risk'
Former Federal Reserve vice-chairman Donald Kohn argues the institution's autonomy has been undermined by recent policies; lists four explicit threats in paper published by the Brookings Institution
Lifetime achievement award: Paul Volcker
Paul Volcker’s record of achievement in difficult circumstances continues to provide an inspiration to central bankers throughout the world
Paul Tucker laments 'faltering vigour' of international reform
Former BoE deputy governor argues there is 'less coherence, faltering vigour and conflicting views about how different national regimes should apply to inherently international markets'
Fed's Williams says ‘highly effective' forward guidance has a ‘number of limitations'
San Francisco Fed president defends the policy's record in a paper written for the Brookings Institution, but also says it is ‘prone to misinterpretation'
Knot backs advanced economies to buck secular stagnation
Netherlands Bank president Klaas Knot says a period of technological change will stop advanced economies from sliding into a new era defined by lower growth rates
Central banks in Israel, UK close in on new deputies
Bank of Israel governor Karnit Flug nominates academic Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg as her deputy; UK Treasury begins process of replacing Charles Bean at the Bank of England