Federal Reserve System
Summers drops out of race for Fed chair
Larry Summers writes to Barack Obama to withdraw his name from consideration as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, citing likely 'acrimonious' confirmation hearings
Dallas Fed highlights transformation of FOMC statements over past 20 years
Before 1994, markets were left in the dark over interest rate changes; statements have expanded seven-fold in the past 20 years, reflecting the evolution of monetary policy operations
Regional Fed presidents stand their ground on MMFs
Presidents of the regional Federal Reserve banks push the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose more stringent reforms on money market funds including requiring a floating net asset value
Regional Feds launch push for faster payments
The 12 Federal Reserve regional banks outline a broad 10-year plan for generating a faster, more efficient payment system; look to industry for specifics
Bank of Mexico deputy welcomes QE taper
Manuel Sánchez singles out downshift in yield curves pushing domestic interest rates for different maturities to all-time lows as the biggest effect of lax monetary conditions on emerging economies
San Francisco Fed president warns asset price bubbles are ‘here to stay’
John Williams discredits economic theory on asset price movements; says bubbles are inflated predominantly by expectations of future price increases
US jobs data disappoint raising doubts over September taper
Unemployment fell to 7.3% in August, but modest improvement in jobs data eclipsed by big negative revisions of June and July figures; analysts split over how numbers affect Fed's decision to taper QE
FOMC policy rate guidance pushes up US equity prices
Netherlands Bank research paper finds policy rate guidance also leads to significant reduction in implied volatility for US government bonds
Fed minutes ‘significantly affect’ US asset prices
New York Fed economic policy review finds that US asset price volatility increases when the Fed releases minutes from policy meetings, but less so since FOMC has become more transparent
Fed presidents opposed as September meeting nears
John Williams backs reducing asset purchases ‘later this year’ while Narayana Kocherlakota says the Fed should be providing ‘more stimulus… not less’
Implicit government guarantees leads to increased risk-taking at banks
Fed discussion paper argues that strengthening market discipline by reducing bank complexity is needed to address moral hazard
BIS economists find Fed's QE helps curb tail risk perception
Paper published today finds the effect of the Fed's announcing unconventional monetary policy measures is strongest when used in conjunction with forward guidance on low interest rates
Central banks are getting more transparent, study finds
Study conducted by Barry Eichengreen and Nergiz Dincer finds trend towards greater transparency was not knocked off course by the financial crisis; independence, however, is more patchy
Sovereign default spreads drove European bank risk exposures during crisis
Systemic risk of European banks reached its height in late 2011 at around €500 billion, based on a measure introduced in a recent Fed working paper
Fed struggles with same issues as 100 years ago, says Lacker
There has been a debate over which assets the Fed should hold since its founding in 1913, Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker says
Summers trails Yellen and Fischer in Central Banking Fed poll
Readers of CentralBanking.com make Janet Yellen first choice to succeed Ben Bernanke as Fed chair - with Stanley Fischer a strong second; Larry Summers joint third with Christina Romer
Canada deputy says QE exit may be ‘more benign’ than critics fear
Despite Canada’s close ties to the US, Bank of Canada deputy governor John Murray believes tapering of Fed asset purchases will have less of a negative impact than many pundits fear
US needs to improve supervision of insurers, FSB peer review concludes
Dombret-led review says US is making progress in reducing systemic risk, but insurance supervision architecture is ‘fragmented'; FSB also publishes progress report on compensation practices
ECB research highlights Greenspan’s powers of persuasion
Researchers say Alan Greenspan was a ‘dominant’ chairman of the FOMC who frequently managed to convince regional Fed presidents to walk his own policy line
Lagarde tells central bankers not to 'rush to exit' on QE
Speaking at Jackson Hole, the head of the IMF said unconventional monetary policies were "still needed in all places it is being used" and that it was unclear what "exit" actually implied
Economists weigh Fed exit at Jackson Hole
Robert Hall warns against tightening policy too soon; Arvind Krishnamurthy lays out exit path that would see Fed selling its Treasury portfolio while maintaining its purchases of MBS
Yellen must overcome deputies’ curse to take Fed chair
Fed vice-chair Janet Yellen will need to avoid joining Paul Tucker, Tiff Macklem, Karnit Flug and other discarded deputies to take the top job at the Fed as governments increasingly favour outsiders
Fed contemplates change to forward guidance
Minutes from the FOMC’s July meeting show members were divided over the outlook for the US economy, and on the prospect of tinkering with the Fed’s forward guidance
Fed urges big banks to improve internal capital planning
Federal Reserve says lenders must strengthen methods for assessing risks; reveals 18 biggest US lenders face challenges in one or more areas