Federal Reserve System
Fed officials grapple with lift-off details
Minutes from January FOMC meeting reveal extensive discussion about the tools at the Fed’s disposal when it wants to raise rates; idea of higher cap for overnight RRPs explored
Fed’s Powell sets ‘high bar’ for leaning against credit cycles
Governor Powell says leaning against the cycle through supervisory policy would ‘almost surely interfere’ with traditional function of capital markets
Fed officials see ‘audit’ bill as threat to independence
Charles Plosser is the latest FOMC member to criticise bill that could see monetary policy decisions reviewed; Richard Fisher and Jerome Powell also raise concerns
IMF too sluggish to be global lender of last resort, say Allen and Moessner
The IMF’s response to the financial crisis was too weak and too late, leaving the Federal Reserve to pick up the slack, William Allen and Richhild Moessner argue in the Central Banking Journal
A more effective strategy for the Fed
The Fed should adopt a Taylor-rule approach to ensure policy adjustments are only made due to changing macroeconomic fundamentals. This would mean it should raise rates and alter its communications
Justin Lin on China, economic growth and the international monetary system
Former World Bank chief economist on why a multiple currency system could increase monetary instability, China should be wary of full capital reform and infrastructure investment will boost growth
Three strikes against the Federal Reserve
If you want to know why US economic recovery has been so sluggish, look no further than the policies of the Federal Reserve, argues Allan Meltzer
House committee calls on Fed to change leverage ratio
Segregated initial margin should be allowed to reduce exposure in cleared trades, says House Agriculture Committee in letter to Fed chair, Janet Yellen
Dallas Fed’s Fisher calls for FOMC reform
Richard Fisher unveils a range of proposals aimed at reducing the power of the New York Fed and Board of Governors in monetary policy decisions
Carney: Expectations of Fed tightening could trigger ‘sharp adjustment’ in financial markets
FSB chairman says the ‘ongoing disconnect’ between risk-taking in financial markets and the real economy ‘poses the threat of sharp adjustments’
FOMC forward guidance adds to 'market confusion', say leading US economists
The Fed lacks 'clearly formulated' normalisation strategy, paper to be published by Central Banking argues; calls for adherence to 'disciplined inflation targeting rule'
Meltzer accuses Fed of three ‘major’ errors
Writing in the Central Banking Journal, Allan Meltzer argues the Fed continued QE for too long, while relying too heavily on ‘noisy’ data and too little on monetary and credit aggregates
New York Fed unveils new way to calculate funds rate
Central bank plans to base the rate on a new dataset that captures a broader range of market activity; move likely to happen in about a year’s time
Fed’s Tarullo casts doubt on counter-cyclical tools
Daniel Tarullo questions ability of macro-prudential tools to temper booms and busts, and calls for a new ‘prudential market regulation’ to tackle shadow banking risks
Fed’s Powell: Virtual currencies ‘not ready’ for role in payments reform
Governor Jerome Powell says virtual currencies could play a ‘bigger role’ in the future, but are not yet ‘mature enough’ to contribute to the Fed’s faster payments initiative
Upbeat Fed statement keeps mid-year rate hike alive
Federal Reserve keeps policy on hold but delivers a positive account of US economy, suggesting inflation will return to target over medium term despite oil price drop
Fed challenges payments industry to get quicker and safer
New document sets out strategies for improving US payment system; Federal Reserve will only consider expanding role as service provider if private sector falls short
Eichengreen says central banks should worry more about deflation than 'profits and losses'
The Berkeley professor on what last week's SNB move says about big central banks 'wrong-footing' markets and the Fed's problematic response to financial crisis
Obstfeld warns emerging markets face dual trilemmas
BIS working paper dissects emerging markets’ ability to resist monetary policy spill-overs, finding the demands of monetary and financial trilemmas make self-defence difficult or impossible
Lagarde: Divergent monetary policy could be a good thing
It could be 'helpful' for the global economy if the ECB eases more as the Fed starts tightening, Lagarde tells an audience in Davos; Summers warns eurozone QE not 'sufficient'
Fed’s Powell offers support for ‘ambitious’ BoE review
Jerome Powell points to the importance of reflecting on structural changes in the fixed-income, currency and commodities markets
Fed sets up permanent community advisory council
First advisory council since the 1980s set up as Federal Reserve fights claims that its policies are benefiting wealthy investors at the expense of middle-income households
Plosser: Regular monetary reports would force FOMC to ‘think more deeply’
Philadelphia Fed president Charles Plosser sets out why the Federal Reserve should publish a quarterly monetary policy report – part of which he and colleagues have already modelled
People: Philadelphia Fed gets new directors; Paraguay central banker named finance minister
Jon Evans and Carol Johnson are appointed to the Philadelphia Fed board of directors; Central Bank of Paraguay loses member of the board of directors to the government; and more