Opinion

Comment: Has the ECB become more credible?

A recent New York Fed staff paper finds that market perceptions of the ECB's "inflation aversion" have improved significantly over the last six years, reflecting the idea that monetary policy has been guided by a dedication to price stability.

Bush quietly reshaping the Fed

Few presidents have had the opportunity to shape the Federal Reserve the way President Bush has this year, according to this article published Friday. And once Bush replaces Ferguson, it says, four of the Fed's seven governors will have taken office in…

Fed veteran Kohn seen as candidate for No. 2 slot

According to this article published Thursday 2 March, Donald Kohn is seen as a top contender for the Federal Reserve's No. 2 spot. Kohn's connection with Alan Greenspan's largely successful tenure is likely to be seen as a plus within the White House, it…

What is Japan's quantitative easing?

With the possibility of the Bank of Japan's quantitative easing ending soon, this article published 7 March Tuesday looks at the policy in detail and asks, 'What comes next?'

Comment: Busy week for policymakers

This week is a busy one for monetary policymakers, with policy meetings taking place in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Here is a brief look at what's been on the mind of central bankers in these countries.

Dollar fall to encourage central bank cooperation

In an interview published on Friday 3 March, John Nugee of State Street Global Advisors said the world's central banks are likely to start working more closely together as they try to manage the impact of an expected long-term decline in the value of the…

Interview with Minneapolis Fed's Gary Stern

In an interview with MarketWatch conducted on Friday 3 March, Minneapolis Fed president Gary Stern said he supports a formal inflation target to "lock in" current good policy practices, but he doesn't see any urgency in making changes. Stern also gave an…

Comment: BoJ to end QE this week?

Friday's inflation data has added to feverish speculation that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will end its "quantitative easing" policy later this week. However, the departure from its zero-interest rate policy is still months off and the question of the…

Comment: Communication and predictability

Two recent studies investigate the effects of more open communication strategies at both the Fed and the ECB on the predictability of subsequent interest rate decisions. The conclusions reached differ considerably.

Greenspan moved markets less

According to the article 'Greenspan moved markets less as Poole, Kohn gained influence' published Wednesday, new research shows former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's speeches moved the bond market less in 2005 than in prior years as William…

DAS: Why is CBN fooling Nigerians?

According to this article published on Monday 27 February , the various exchange rate mechanisms whether christened FEM, IFEM, AFEM, or DAS, could never claim to be truly market determined and have all without exception, eventually led to the…

West's gold vanishing in China once again

China will soon release statistics showing that it has passed Japan as the biggest holder of foreign currency the world has ever seen, according to this article published on Sunday 26 February.

Comment: ECB continues to tighten

As expected the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday raised eurozone interest rates by another 25 basis points, taking them to 2.5%. With the markets pricing in two further 25 basis point hikes this year, attention now turns to whether ECB president,…

Comment: Presidential Fed nominations

When George W. Bush announces his nomination to replace departing vice chairman, Roger Ferguson, he will have chosen all seven members of the board of governors at the Fed. In doing so, he will join Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt as the only…

Bush's Board

George W. Bush is only the third president to appoint all seven members of the Board of Governors, notes this article published Monday. But how does he compare to his predecessors in terms of overall influence on the makeup of Fed leadership?

Comment: The ECB's 'structural flaw'

In a lecture at the London School of Economics this week, Charles Goodhart suggested that the criticism directed towards the ECB by politicians, is the result of a "structural flaw" in the way the central bank's inflation objective was defined.

Want to save the euro? Bring back 12 currencies

According to this article published on Monday 27 February, reissuing the 12 national currencies that were replaced with the euro may be the only way to salvage something from an experiment that looks more like a failure with every month that passes.

Bank of Korea's tarnished image

According to this recent editorial, the Bank of Korea has dealt a staggering blow to its image as the issuer of legal tender by deciding to send 160,000 banknotes in its possession back to the print shop because they are suspected of printing defects.

Comment: 'A matter for the BoJ'

Comments made by influential Japanese politicians over the weekend and on Monday suggest that the government will no longer stand in the Bank of Japan's way as it departs from its super-loose policy of "quantitative easing".

Fed's loss is Bernanke's gain

According to this article published Thursday 23 February, with Vice-Chairman Roger W. Ferguson Jr., a Democrat, out of the way, the new Federal Reserve chairman can now dominate the inflation debate.

Comment: Zimbabwe's mystery repayment

Two weeks ago the Zimbabwean government managed to avoid expulsion from the IMF by paying off a large chunk of its debt to the Fund. However, the source of the forex-depleted government's finances remains a mystery.

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