Opinion
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - In this weeks special feature CentralBankNet looks at the issue of asset price bubbles. Central bankers have come under some criticism recently for a failure to control such 'irrational exuberance', but hit back that it's not their job…
Japan and US: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
ARTICLE - With the American economy still sputtering and the Federal Reserve divided over whether to cut interest rates again, foreboding comparisons between the United States and Japan are gaining a renewed currency.
Greenspan goes on trial for bubble complacency
ARTICLE - Alan Greenspan's reputation now lies in the balance. Which way the balance tips matters not only for him but also for the consensus on how central banks should respond to asset prices.
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
SPECIAL FEATURE - Andrew Large became the latest member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to be quizzed by the panel of UK politicians which make up the Treasury Committee on Monday 23 September. In today's Special Report we ask…
GCC central bank & monetary union - How realistic?
ARTICLE - The year is 2010. A young Harvard-educated Saudi, Khalid Al-Ibrahim, has just been named the first president of the new Gulf Central Bank (GCB). He is assisted by a board of directors comprising five other members, mostly former central bankers…
Monetary Hawks and Doves
ARTICLE - In an article from the Ludwig von Mises Institute Mark Thornton, a senior fellow of the Mises Institute, suggests that differences occur in the propensity for Fed governors to be given the tag of either dove or hawk on their FOMC voting habits…
Honour Greenspan and Lady Prudence
ARTICLE - When the Queen knights Alan Greenspan tomorrow at Balmoral it will raise profound questions for the world's other central bankers, reported the London edition of the FT on Wednesday in an article.
Reserve Bank's new target divides economists
ARTICLE - As widely expected, the policy targets agreement between the Government and new Reserve Bank Governor, Dr Alan Bollard, has been amended to require him to keep inflation in a 1 to 3 per cent band "on average over the medium term".
CentralBankNet Monday Special Feature
Each Monday in future CentralBankNet will run a special feature on a subject of topical interest. This week we look at the issues raised by Bill McDonough's recent speech deploring the excesses of US executive pay and ask: Is it the job of a central…
Developing nation bankruptcy treaty may emerge
ARTICLE - With financial instability rippling through Latin America, momentum appears to be building for an international plan to make it easier for developing nations to declare bankruptcy and renegotiate their foreign debts, reports the Wall Street…
The IMF and Ukraine: What Really Happened
ARTICLE - A Commentary by Lorenzo Figliuoli and Bogdan Lissovolik, IMF Resident Representatives in Ukraine, Zerkalo Nedeli, 31 August. Recently the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper has published a number of articles disparaging of the role of the International…
Deputy dogged by lack of job definition at B of E
ARTICLE - To be Deputy Governor of the Bank of England is a hazardous occupation, reported the Daily Telegraph on Friday. The first, Michael Godfrey, went to the wars and lost his head to a cannon-ball apparently.
Can Basel II be made to work?
ARTICLE - Latest developments in the progress of the Basel II Capital Accord have raised concerns by both US and European parties that its complexity will lead to unequal treatment. The Banker magazine, in its August 2002 edition, examines the issue and…
Greenspan keeps his nerve
ARTICLE - More mixed economic data appear to support Alan Greenspan's cautious decision not to cut interest rates any further for the time being, reports the Economist magazine on Friday. But this week the Fed admitted that stockmarket jitters have…
How economics came to rival religious faith
ARTICLE - Is economics a religion? This question is posed by Samuel Brittan in the Financial Times on Thursday.
Iraq's central bank governor details new bank note
ARTICLE - Iraq's central bank Governor Dr Isam Rashid Huwaysh has explained the bank's decision to issue a 10,000-dinar banknote, in an interview with the Al-Rafidayn web site.
Don't blame Brazil
ARTICLE - In an article in the Financial Times on Tuesday, George Soros suggests that the market's reaction to the IMF's $30bn rescue package in Brazil shows that a new approach is needed.
Liberalising our exchange controls
ARTICLE - At the recently-held public/private sector consultation on economic and related issues, Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr. Marion Williams presented a paper on Barbados' response to the liberalisation of trade in financial services.
Sovereign bankruptcy: an opinion Jean-Jacques Rey
Jean-Jacques Rey welcomes Anne Krueger’s proposals for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism. But is it a dead-end or promising avenue?
No middle ground on operational risk debate
ARTICLE - While regulators insist they are well on their way down the road to new international capital standards, bankers say they are following the wrong map to destinations unknown. From American Banker, 12 August.
It's time to create the 'amero'
ARTICLE - In an article in the Canadian National Post on Friday Herbert Grubel introduces the idea of the 'amero' a single currency between Canada the USA and possibly Mexico along the same lines as the euro. He also tries to unravel some apparent…
Rudiger Dornbusch
ARTICLE - Rudiger Dornbusch, a far-from-dismal economist, died on July 25th, aged 60. The Economist magazine, 9 August paid tribute to him.
Interview with Milton Friedman
INTERVIEW - Central Banking, The Quarterly Journal, contains an exclusive interview with Milton Friedman in the August 2002 edition. The Editor, Robert Pringle, spoke to US Economist Milton Friedman, just before Friedman celebrated his 90th birthday. In…