Central Banks
Central Bank of Brazil raises rates for seventh time in a row
Selic rate increased 50 basis points to 10.5% in unanimous decision following disappointing inflation figures published last week; rate up 275 basis points since April 2013
BoE's Carney downplays UK housing risks
The governor, who is also head of the country's principal macro-prudential regulator, says higher prices and ‘mortgage availability' is due to housing market bouncing back from ‘low base'
Mersch says ABS could help eurozone back to health
Addressing the Ifo Institute in Munich, ECB executive board member Yves Mersch said asset-backed securities have a bad reputation but a role to play in the European economic recovery
Dutch paper finds Germans ‘substantially more cash oriented’ than other nationalities
Researchers consider why cash is still ‘heavily used’ for low-value payments in Europe; attributes German consumers' continued use of cash to ‘precautionary’ reasons
Fed consults over financial stability implications of commodities investment
Financial firms' involvement in commodity markets could pose a risk to financial stability, particularly in the event of a natural or environmental disaster
Christian Noyer overruled by finance minister on savings rate
Banque de France governor Christian Noyer proposes cutting the interest rate paid on the country’s most popular savings account; Pierre Moscovici rejects the move to ‘protect spending power’
Fisher says Fed must stop QE ‘as soon as feasible'
Exit from quantitative easing is ‘daunting' according to Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher, who compared it yesterday to passing a camel through the eye of a needle
Four more countries have ‘systemically important' financial sectors, says IMF
New methodology qualifying countries for IMF's financial sector assessment programme means Denmark, Norway, Poland and Finland will now undergo regular check-ups
‘Yellenomics’ – the second coming of Keynes at the Fed
Janet Yellen's confirmation is an historic shift toward a more activist Fed, a reinstatement of Keynesian economics and expanded government in general, writes Thomas Cargill
Central Bank of Venezuela seen in debt reshuffle
The central bank will reportedly buy securities from the country's mining corporation with debt accumulated from the state-owned oil company
Trichet calls on Troika to ‘gradually disappear’
Former ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet defends the central bank’s role in the Troika; says the group should be phased out as policy-makers move away from curing crises and towards preventing them
Belarussian presidential decree sets out 2014 forward guidance
Belarus central bank's key refinancing rate will average between 14% and 16%, according to monetary policy guidelines approved by the president; exchange rate will be based on market forces
Lautenschläger rejects German stereotypes as she closes in on ECB job
Sabine Lautenschläger tells the European Parliament she will not imitate either Weidmann or Asmussen if she is appointed to ECB’s executive board; calls for governing council to publish minutes
RBI’s Mohanty lays out approach to rising food prices
The Reserve Bank of India will have to perform 'a careful balancing act' if it steps in to mitigate rising food prices, says executive director Deepak Mohanty
Nigeria's Sanusi to serve out full term after ‘reconciling' with Jonathan
Nigerian central bank governor and president said to put aside their ‘differences' after Goodluck Jonanthan reportedly demanded Sanusi's immediate resignation for allegedly leaking politically sensitive information
Bundesbank paper finds benefits in concentrated bank lending
Researchers find that banks with more concentrated credit portfolios have lower expected write-offs and unexpected risk than their counterparts
Basel Committee publishes leverage ratio definition
Basel Committee agrees common definition for simple bank leverage ratio; discussions set to continue over the appropriate required level
ECB unveils new €10 note
Yves Mersch presents the design of the new €10 banknote in Frankfurt; equipped with new security features to help keep rising counterfeit rates in check
MAS says lack of global regulatory standard for virtual currencies cause for concern
Singapore's monetary authority and chief financial regulator singles out the likes of Bitcoin as a potential conduit for illicit activities, in survey on money laundering and terrorism financing
Turkmen central bank chief replaced with former deputy
Tuvakmammet Japarov becomes the sixth governor in 12 years to be sacked from the job; replaced by Gochmurat Muradov who served as his deputy between 2011 and 2012
Central bank of the year: The People's Bank of China
The PBoC has anchored market-based reform in China by curbing excesses in the financial system while pressing ahead with interest rate and capital account reform at a time of major political change