Federal Reserve System
People: ECB names new budget and finance head; long-serving Fed director to retire
Roberto Schiavi will become ECB’s director general budget and finance in March; Fed’s Louise Roseman to retire as director of reserve bank operations and payment systems; and more
Esther George supports further rate rises unless outlook ‘significantly shifts’
Kansas City Fed president supports further rate rises unless economic outlook changes notably; normalisation justified by job increases and economic growth, she argues
Fischer spells out uncertainty surrounding impact of global volatility
Fischer says ‘modest overshoot’ of the longer-run unemployment rate would be appropriate, ahead of this month’s jobs data; sees benefit in maintaining balance sheet ‘for a time’
Former BoE officials warn low rates are feeding imbalances
Marian Bell and John Gieve say the Bank of England should start hiking rates soon, as signs of supply-side problems, unsustainable debt, rising house prices and inflation grow more serious
BIS deputy: animal spirits need stability
Investors need certainty over long-term prospects for sustainable growth, so more short-term stimulus by central banks is likely to make the problem worse, Pereira da Silva says
Severely adverse scenario will now include ‘more severe downturn’ for US
Severely adverse scenario will now include ‘more severe downturn’ in the US economy; two new BHCs will take part, bringing total number to 33
US Fed committee keeps close eye on global developments
Federal Open Market Committee watching impact of global events on risks to its economic outlook; notes mixed developments as it holds interest rate target
BoE’s Forbes weighs up varying policy paths in US and UK
Bank of England MPC member Kristin Forbes sees ‘striking’ similarities between the countries’ labour markets, but this does not necessarily mean the same policy is appropriate
US, China trends put Hong Kong in potential tough spot, warns IMF report
Housing prices have tripled since 2008 and could face correction as result of slowdown prompted by outside pressures
New York Fed president keeping eye on expectations
William Dudley expects inflation expectations to increase if the economy keeps growing at an above-trend pace, but any deviation could be cause for concern
Senate blocks proposal to conduct ‘full audit’ of the Fed
‘Audit the Fed’ bill fails to secure support needed to proceed to Senate floor; Bernanke joins ranks of current and former Fed officials warning of potential threat to independence
IMF paper compares impact of monetary and macro-prudential policies
Research considers effects of measures in ‘systemic advanced economies’ on financial conditions both at home and abroad; monetary shocks in US can have ‘significant’ impact
US delivers strong jobs growth to end 2015
Report shows nonfarm payrolls expanded by 292,000 in in December, while figures for both October and November revised up; unemployment rate unchanged at 5% for the third consecutive month
Risk that US public lowers inflation expectations, Chicago Fed president warns
The Federal Reserve’s undershooting of its inflation target in recent years may lower the inflation expectations of the American public, making future monetary policy harder, Evans warns
Some FOMC members still see ‘considerable’ risks to inflation forecasts
The Federal Reserve’s decision to increase the federal funds rate target was a ‘close call’ in the view of ‘some’ FOMC members; mixed views among governors and presidents on inflation outlook
Cleveland Fed president ‘fully supported’ rate hike
Loretta Mester expresses support for FOMC’s decision in December, but notes greater importance of policy path than date of lift-off for macroeconomic performance
Rate rises may be appropriate when asset prices are high, Fischer says
The Fed's vice-chair says raising interest rates may be appropriate if asset prices reach ‘excessively high’ levels across the economy; he weighs the options for tackling ZLB constraint
LatAm response to Fed sees two hikes
Mexico and Chile both raise rates by 25bp in the wake of the Fed decision, with currencies remaining relatively stable in the aftermath
HKMA hikes rates as Asia takes Fed decision in stride
Hong Kong raises rates for first time in over nine nears as regional markets remain calm; Norman Chan warns of capital outflows and ‘possible shocks' ahead
Yellen warns not to 'overblow' liftoff as Federal Reserve raises rates
Federal Open Market Committee will keep close eye on ‘actual and expected progress’ toward 2% inflation, after embarking on first tightening cycle since 2006 with 25bp hike
BoE’s Shafik says wages key to rate hike
Deputy governor says economy has been difficult to read in recent years but stronger growth in wages would be a major factor in prompting her to vote for a rate hike
TCH and VocaLink set sights on US real-time payments
CEOs emphasise effort to create level playing field for 14,000 US financial institutions to access the system, as the firms finalise real-time payments deal
Forecasters expected ‘significant’ drop in bond yields in wake of Fed easing, paper finds
Staff report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York examines how professional forecasters revised their predictions in aftermath of Fed decisions
Policy-makers need better models and data on bank and non-bank links, Fischer says
Data on a range of activities remains ‘inadequate’, while research has only shed ‘partial light’ on issues surrounding troubled financial institution during the crisis, Fischer says