Central Banks
Central Bank of Oman's Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali on the dollar, financial stability and Islamic finance
The Central Bank of Oman remains committed to the dollar as it moves to improve governance, liquidity management and Islamic finance in the sultanate, its executive president tells Chris Jeffery
Independence no substitute for rules-based policy
Thomas Cargill summarises the conclusions of four papers by world-leading economists on the issue of central bank governance and finds independence is overrated
Reassessing the sovereign investor nexus
As sovereign assets continue to grow, managers look set to adopt multi-asset investment approaches that are more closely associated with defined-contribution pension plans
New face for FOMC as Cleveland Fed pick Pianalto replacement
Mester, head of research at Philadelphia Fed, will take over on June 1; will contribute insights on financial stability effects of monetary policy to FOMC, says Don Kohn
Norwegian governor backs SWF rotation into higher-yielding equities and real estate
Øystein Olsen says it is ‘natural' for the country's pension fund to invest in different types of real assets; talks up the possibility of an above-average market return
Italian paper finds difficulties in risk weighting sovereign debt
Researchers at the Bank of Italy warn that applying higher risk weights to sovereign debt could be detrimental to banks’ funding conditions
Sarb hits out at ‘blatant misrepresentation’ ahead of South Africa elections
Central bank refutes claims by Democratic Alliance that Sarb models indicate support for the party’s economic policies; central bank calls for nominations to three non-executive directorships
Kenyan High Court blocks charges against Ndung’u
Njuguna Ndung’u granted temporary reprieve from corruption charges after High Court intervenes, but possibility of arrest fuels fears of turbulence in the vulnerable economy
IMF paper finds highly indebted nations can still grow fast
Results of a new study contradict findings of Reinhart and Rogoff, who argued that growth declines at debt of more than 90% of GDP
Public opinion of BoJ policy continues to dive
Bank of Japan survey shows majority of Japanese people now think interest rates are too low, while a growing proportion believe the economy will worsen over the next year
Cœuré defends Troika to European Parliament
ECB’s top negotiator with European Parliament defends the adjustment programmes shaped by the Troika and tells politicians not to ‘blame the fire brigade for the fire damage’
A new vision of the Old Lady
The strategic review at the Bank of England represents an opportunity to create an ‘Economics Directorate’, a research department and an external policy unit, writes Richard Barwell
UK government rules out 'sterling zone' with independent Scotland
Scotland will face significant challenges in setting up its own currency, establishing a currency board or joining the euro as an alternative to sterling