Opinion
Warsh's Fed nomination draws criticism, confusion
President Bush's nomination of the 35-year-old White House aide Kevin Warsh for a seat on the Federal Reserve's board has been greeted with criticism and bewilderment by some former Fed officials and economists, according to this article published on…
Comment: The IMF and exchange rate surveillance
The IMF's managing director, Rodrigo de Rato, on Thursday 9 February shed some light on the Fund's thinking over its medium-term strategy in a speech in Rome.
IMF letter to the FT
In this letter to the Financial Times on 8 February, 2006, the IMF's assistant director Ashoka Mody, and the Fund's senior resident representative for central Europe and the Baltics, Christoph Rosenberg, question FT columnist Wolfgang Munchau assertion…
Comment: BoJ and inflation targeting
As the Bank of Japan's "quantitative easing" policy nears its end, the question of whether the central bank may soon set an explicit inflation target is being hotly debated. Although the BoJ is still resisting the adopting the framework, the tide may…
Comment: Bernanke gets more time
The new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, will have an extra day to listen to different opinions and pore over the latest data on the American economy at his first FOMC meeting. Yesterday's news that the March 28 meeting will be expanded could increase…
Comment: EU banking supervision
Bundesbank board member Edgar Meister's assertion earlier this week that "the current supervisory framework is no real hindrance to cross-border consolidation" in the European banking sector, underlines the differences in opinion amongst policymakers on…
Comment: Slovenia set for the euro
The ringing endorsement Slovenia recently received from the European Commission and its economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, underlines the growing consensus that the country will be the next member of the eurozone. However, like…
Interview with ECB's Bini Smaghi
In a recent interview, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, said that unless private consumption picks up there will be no sustained growth. The high price of oil is an important factor, as it is taking away…
New Fed chair has passion for equations
This article published on Thursday 2 February takes an in-depth look at Ben Bernanke. The new Fed chief, it says, wants to strip away some of the mystery of the Fed and come out with an inflation range to aim for over the medium or long term.
Comment: EMU and market discipline
A recent research note by the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies pours cold water on the idea that Italy could crash out of the European Monetary Union (EMU) any time soon. The key to this conclusion lies in the amount of euro-dominated…
Wolfowitz's moves rankle World Bank staff
According to this recent article, Paul Wolfowitz is sending shock waves through the World Bank as he begins exerting his influence. Critics say Wolfowitz has centralized his authority through an inner circle of advisors mostly from the Pentagon and White…
Common North American currency a tempting idea
The concept of a common North American currency is a tempting idea, according to this article published on Tuesday 31 January. The objections will be more patriotic than economic, it says.
Greenspan goes out with final jab at inflation
The Federal Reserve's decision to increase interest rates again left open the possibility of another increase next month in a smooth handoff of the Fed policy baton from Greenspan to Ben Bernanke, this article published on Wednesday 1 February says.
Comment: Trichet's new strategy
Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), on Thursday 2 February cemented expectations of a 25 basis point rate hike next month. The manner in which he has gone about flagging the move underlines the central bank's new…
What's the future for Lebanon's central bank?
According to this article published on Monday 30 January, changes need to be made soon at the Lebanese central bank to reflect developments in economic theory and in applied central banking.
Bernanke inherits an experienced Fed staff
Alan Greenspan's legacy includes a Fed full of battle-tested veterans who helped him calm the markets and steer the U.S. economy through September 11, the 1987 stock market crash, the international currency crises of the 1990s and two recessions,…
Bond market bubble?
It is time to push beyond the "global savings glut" argument and the closely related "excess global liquidity" argument to explain the extraordinarily low level of both real and nominal long-term interest rates, according to this article published on…
Comment: Bernanke's options kept open
Subtle changes in the wording of the Fed's latest monetary policy statement leaves new chairman, Ben Bernanke, with more wiggle-room than may have been expected. Markets will become very sensitive to incoming data and will look to Bernanke's Capitol Hill…
Greenspan critics are off base on his legacy
As Alan Greenspan prepares to relinquish the Federal Reserve chairmanship on Tuesday 31 January, a cottage industry has sprung up questioning the strength of his legacy. Most of the criticism is off base, according to this article published on Monday.
Bernanke - Be tough, independent, raise rates
As Ben Bernanke takes over the reins at the Federal Reserve after his all-but-certain confirmation on Tuesday 31 January , Washington is bracing itself, according to this article published Monday, for the kind of noisy Fed transition it hasn't…
Comment: Nigeria's CB wins praise
In the statement accompanying its BB minus long-term credit rating for Nigeria, the rating agency Fitch this week applauded policymakers' "strong commitment to economic reform", including "measures to rationalise the banking system" implemented by the…
Fed will raise rates as Bernanke waits
The pending change in the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve won't stop the FOMC raising US interest rates by a quarter point when they meet on 31 Jan for the 14th consecutive meeting, according to this article published on Tuesday 24 January.
Comment: Talking points in January
January has been an eventful month in central banking circles. Debate intensified at the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan over their monetary policy frameworks, while the Bank of Italy and the State Bank of Pakistan saw new governors taking office…
So much forex reserve, is it a blessing?
After recent figures showed China is not far behind Japan, the world's largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, this article published on Thursday 26 January asks: is it a blessing to have such an enormous forex reserve?