Opinion
Comment: Balcerowicz battles on
The president of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Leszek Balcerowicz, and the ministry of finance are at loggerhead over a hotly debated bank merger. The government wants the deal blocked, Balcerowicz refuses to do so. Even as his first term draws to…
Bank of Japan takes big risk with policy change
According to this article published on Friday 10 March, by ditching its quantitative easing policy the Bank of Japan may be making one of the biggest mistakes in its history.
Comment: Unravelling the BoJ message
The Bank of Japan put an end to its "quantitative easing" policy last week. Although the timing was slightly ahead of expectations, the move itself was widely anticipated. Attention has now turned to unravelling the implications of the central bank's new…
Comment: Measuring financial fragility
Central banks and regulators have created well-staffed financial stability departments, producing voluminous reports and reviews. However, policymakers are not always sure what they are aiming at in this opaque, but systemically important, area. New…
Fed's Stern doesn't see inflation accelerating
According to this article published on Monday, 6 March Minneapolis Fed president Gary Stern is about as relaxed regarding inflation as a central banker can be.
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…
Japan's debt straitjacket is out of style
Amid the euphoria over the end of deflation and a likely change in the Bank of Japan's policy, this recent article says it's easy to forget that Japan remains addicted to borrowed money.
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?
Bundesbank fights to shine in ECB's shadow
Germany's Bundesbank is battling to redefine its role in the new eurozone monetary order headed by the European Central Bank, according to this article published Friday.
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.