Opinion

Comment: The Benefits of Joining the EMU

What is the gain for new European Union member states of joining the Euro currency area so soon? This is the question asked by Federico Ravenna in a recent ECB working paper*. The author argues that the decision to become part of the monetary union is…

Comment: A controversial Central Banking feature

About two weeks after its publication, the current issue of Central Banking has suddenly been receiving wall-to-wall coverage in some sections of the UK media. But what was intended as a sober, objective and balanced appraisal of some of the problems of…

Basel II may feed volatility

Despite recognising that the new Basel accord is "widely viewed as a much needed effort to deal with the shortcoming of the current system", a recent working paper by the Bank of England (BoE) raises new concerns about how the accord may exacerbate…

Pricking a housing bubble, Australian style

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Ian Macfarlane has declared victory in the fight to deflate one of the world's most obvious housing bubbles, according to this article published on Wednesday 17 August. In fact, he is so confident he has succeeded that…

Comment: Governments eye foreign reserves

Two dimensions of official sector reserves receive a lot of attention in the press, in policy circles and from market analysts: foreign reserves held by central banks and public pension funds.

Single currency in SADC remains elusive

Dreams of a regional central bank are far from fruition for the countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), according to this article published Tuesday 16 August.

In search of King's defence

Two articles published Thursday reflected on the Bank of England's last MPC meeting which saw the governor outvoted for the first time. One says the UK's "boring" monetary policy just got a whole lot more interesting, noting that heavyweight Charlie Bean…

Comment: Views on King's gambit

Here is a roundup comments on the Bank of England's publication of the minutes of the latest MPC meeting, which revealed that, for the first time in the committee's history, the governor voted with the minority (see yesterday's CentralBankNet).

Oil-market frenzy and the Fed

This editorial by The Washington Times, published on Tuesday 16 August, says the job of the Federal Reserve has become far more complicated today. Today, following years in which international financial markets have been increasingly integrated, global…

Comment:Test for Mervyn King's communication skill

What does yesterday's revelation that the top brass of the Bank of England's MPC were outvoted at August's monetary policy meeting imply for the market's view of future interest movements in the UK? And what does it tell us about the institutional set-up…

Why China has to revalue more

This article suggests another reason for China's recent decision to revalue the renminbi. Rather than bowing to international pressure to end the trade advantage it received, it suggests China's attempts to engineer a soft landing for its economy simply…

Fazio should be forced out of the Bank of Italy

According to this article published on Monday 15 August, Antonio Fazio has tossed aside the few strict principles a central banker must follow. He has become an embarrassment, it says, and there is now no credible way he can remain in office.

Why do we regulate?

This article looks at the need to regulate banks. It quotes a recent paper which says it is difficult to identify a sound policy reason for regulating banks. We do so because we want to, not because we must, it says.

Comment: Output losses from financial crises

Central bankers and regulators, like other professionals, naturally spend a lot of time on the technical details of their jobs. Sometimes it is well to be reminded of just how much is at stake in their policy decisions.

A punch bowl made in China

China is supplying a punch bowl to keep the party going despite the Federal Reserve's best efforts, according to an article published on Wednesday 10 August. So consumers can thank Beijing and other Asian central banks for all the cheap credit, it says.

Greenspan, her art-throb

Fascinated by the Federal Reserve chairman, this article looks at the work of an artist who has completed 20 paintings and sketches of Alan Greenspan. The artist then decided to display her works at a gallery on Long Island over the summer.

Comment: China points way to wider reform

Robert Pringle, editor of Central Banking, explains why China's recent moves underline the need for a wider reform of world money (extracts from an interview with the German newspaper, Handelsblatt published on 11 August).

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