Federal Reserve System
Fed’s Stein highlights transatlantic risks
Jeremy Stein discusses situations that may lead to a spike in dollar funding costs for European banks operating in the US; says renewed swap lines and new regulation will help
CB.com poll reveals concerns over inflationary impact of QE
Majority of participants believe extraordinary monetary policy measures will cause central banks to overshoot inflation targets
Central banks extend swap arrangements
Bank of Canada, Bank of England, European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank and US Federal Reserve extend temporary US dollar and bilateral swap agreements
The ghost at the IMF’s Tokyo feast
Robert Pringle looks back at the main themes of the IMF’s annual meeting, which was held in October in Tokyo, and forward to prospects for 2013
Racial equality boosted by deregulation in US, paper says
Banking sector policies that facilitated competition helped increase the black population’s relative wages in the US, but only in racially biased states
Fed to extend QE by $45bn per month
Federal Reserve gives equity markets a lift by unveiling an additional $45 billion of quantitative easing; adopts numerical thresholds
Central bank policies fuel asset price rise, says BIS
BIS quarterly review says monetary easing is helping to push investors into riskier assets despite a weakening global outlook.
Fed appoints new chairmen to half of district reserve banks
Federal Reserve Board of Governors names six new chairmen and five deputies to district banks’ board of directors
Fed’s Stein highlights benefits of mortgage-backed QE
Jeremy Stein says purchasing mortgage-backed securities provides a greater "kick" for corporate investment than Treasury securities
Fed’s Tarullo outlines update to regulation of foreign banks
Rules for foreign banks operating in the US need to be strengthened, but should not be so harsh as to give domestic banks a competitive advantage, says Daniel Tarullo
Fed’s Beige Book finds ‘measured’ improvement despite hurricane damage
Survey of economic sentiment maintains cautious optimism in the US in face of hurricane damage and rising fears over ‘fiscal cliff’
Fed paper examines commodity price correlation
Study find lower interest rates capable of smoothing price divergences
Fed paper assesses impact of government funding on loan provision
Study by Cleveland Fed examines a US scheme designed to boost lending to low-income but high-quality borrowers
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: How governments are undermining world finance
Central bankers need to forcefully express their concerns about the unintended consequences of new regulatory policies
Bernanke steps up pressure for action on fiscal cliff
Fed chairman warns of damaging effects of uncertainty over ‘fiscal cliff’ on the economy; says plan for long-term debt sustainability would reinforce confidence and promote recovery
Fed paper assesses German ‘debt brake’
Study finds a rule intended to lower government deficit in Germany helps stabilise the country’s private sector
Fed’s Dudley says too-big-to-fail issue unresolved
New York Fed chief rejects the idea of breaking up large and complex banks – for now
Fed includes ‘doomsday scenario’ in next round of stress tests
Baseline, adverse and severely adverse scenarios specified in preparation for 2013 stress testing; 'severely adverse' would cover failure to resolve ‘fiscal cliff'
Philadelphia paper praises macro-prudential potential
Macro-prudential policy is a more efficient way to control credit than monetary policy – and it has a limited impact on inflation
Central bank gold purchases slow in third quarter
Growth of net central bank gold holdings in third quarter remains positive but decelerates compared with similar period in 2011; year-to-date holdings up 9%
Fed could extend asset purchases, minutes show
Some FOMC members say additional asset purchases likely to be needed next year to generate sustained improvement in labour market
Yellen wants more transparency and a change in forward guidance
Federal Reserve vice-chair Janet Yellen calls for more transparency and supports replacing the calendar date in the Fed’s forward guidance with economic conditions needed to lift the funds rate
European fiscal stimulus assessed by Fed paper
Economic Recovery Plan had a sizeable but short-lived impact on GDP
Fed paper presents improved model of inflation and unemployment
Authors develop a bivariate model that they believe improves upon univariate benchmarks