Federal Reserve System
Fed officials renew calls to tackle inequality
Janet Yellen highlights need for further research into income inequality, while Lael Brainard focuses on young people and Narayana Kocherlakota on Native Americans
Fed paper measures damage from capital flow surges
Researchers find surging capital flows push labour away from manufacturing, create sudden booms and recessions, and do more damage if there is a sudden reversal
Jacques de Larosière on the international monetary system and the eurozone
Central Banking’s Chris Jeffery speaks to former IMF chief Jacques de Larosière about efforts to restore the global financial system and challenges for the eurozone at the Central Banking Awards 2015
Fischer looks to strengthen non-bank solvency and liquidity
Fed vice-chair says key issues for promoting non-bank sector stability are solvency and liquidity, and suggests policies that could be used to strengthen these areas
Yellen sees potential benefits in ‘tight’ labour market
Fed chair Janet Yellen says allowing unemployment to fall below its longer-run level for a short time could help return inflation to target quicker and boost productivity
Fischer sets sights on shadow banks
Fed vice-chair says US regulators must do more to regulate non-banks, including improvements to wholesale funding, better data and regulation that evolves at the same pace as the industry
Fed’s Evans harbours ‘serious concerns’ over inflation
Chicago Fed president wants to see stronger wage growth and a recovery in ‘long-term inflation compensation’ demanded by investors before sanctioning rate hike
Fischer sees shocks disrupting future path of rates
Fed vice-chair Stanley Fischer says smooth upward path for the federal funds rate will ‘almost certainly not be realised’ given the likelihood of shocks in the US economy
Cleveland Fed’s Mester sees guidance as 'comms device'
Loretta Mester believes the Fed should stop using forward guidance as a policy tool when economic conditions have normalised and stick to setting out its reaction function
ECB forecasts ‘gradual’ increase in US inflation
Economic bulletin published by ECB agrees with FOMC that inflation will increase gradually as labour market conditions improve and impact of low oil prices and high dollar fades
Fed keeps options open as countdown to lift-off begins
FOMC drops the reference to being ‘patient’ before normalising policy, signalling a rate hike could arrive as early as June, but tempers expectations with more cautious economic assessment
Lagarde tells emerging markets to prepare for US rate hike
Emerging markets can expect trouble if the Fed raises rates this year, says IMF managing director; BIS research implies economies can harness the benefits of spillovers with the right policy mix
Turkey intervenes in FX markets as lira slide continues
Central bank caught between shrill government rhetoric and jumpy markets, cutting FX deposit rates and launching liquidity operations in an attempt to halt the sliding lira
Fisher says goodbye to ‘honourable tradition of central banking’
Dallas Fed president delivers last speech before standing down; talks about the value of public service and praises his colleagues for work at the Fed and ‘for the love of the thing itself’
Richmond Fed paper analyses new banks decline
If the rate of new banks continues to fall, it will have a large impact on the banking sector as well as the flow of credit in the economy, according to research published by the Richmond Fed
US banks hold up under Fed stress tests
Latest annual stress tests show 31 largest bank-holding companies would lose $490 billion under the Fed’s severely adverse scenario, which has been tightened compared to 2014
Ongoing reports of recovery add little to FOMC debate
Latest Beige Book shows economic activity expanding at a steady pace, while Esther George and Charles Evans take different sides in the FOMC’s inflation debate
Fed officials debate research on equilibrium real rates
Research presented at US Monetary Policy Forum says uncertainty around equilibrium rate means the Fed should delay tightening policy; Loretta Mester and William Dudley discuss findings
Yellen sees ‘room for improvement’ on risk management
Fed chair says banks have strengthened their risk management, internal controls and governance, but more can be done and supervisors will be ‘watching closely’
Philadelphia Fed names Patrick Harker president
Charles Plosser retired yesterday and Patrick Harker will take the reins in July; his background includes a host of academic posts and a spell on the Philadelphia Fed board
Plosser and Conti-Brown debate Fed governance reforms
Peter Conti-Brown proposes giving the Fed’s board of governors the power to appoint and remove Reserve Bank presidents; Charles Plosser rejects arguments in his response
Paper tackles US inflation puzzle with new Phillips curve
Authors of research published by IMF find core inflation movements can be explained by anchored expectations and short-term unemployment “stories”
Yellen defends relationship with White House
Fed chair tells congressional committee she did not discuss monetary policy with Treasury secretary or executive branch of government, when quizzed on ‘near-weekly’ meetings
Yellen sheds light on lift-off communication
Fed chair discusses how the Federal Reserve will communicate its thought process on policy normalisation; rejects FOMC reform and Audit the Fed bill in congressional hearing