International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Nowotny calls on IMF to help address global spillovers
IMF surveillance function should be further developed to help overcome negative spillovers in an increasingly inter-connected world, Austria governor says
People: IMF hires Vitor Gaspar; Poland deputy reappointed
Former Bank of Portugal and ECB research head Vitor Gaspar will become director of fiscal affairs at the IMF; Piotr Wiesiołek handed second term at National Bank of Poland; and more
Ukraine calls on IMF help as NBU focuses on financial stability
New government asks IMF and other international lenders for a bail-out; interim president tells central bank staff they must restore public confidence in the banking system
IMF praises full-tilt reform at Paraguayan central bank
The central bank has introduced a string of reforms recently, including an overnight lending facility, a tighter benchmark rate and bi-annual inflation reports
IMF statisticians create composite index of financial inclusion
A working paper outlines the design of the index and then applies it to a sample of 31 countries; Maldives comes out on top while Chad gets the wooden spoon
G-20 pledge signposts en route to 'normal' monetary policy
Central bank governors and finance ministers in the world's biggest economies promise to be ‘mindful of impacts on the global economy' as they exit unconventional monetary policy
IMF praises ‘dramatic’ turnaround in Spanish bank sector
Final report on Spain’s financial sector reform programme says ‘steadfast’ implementation paid dividends, but warns of a number of alarming trends still prevalent in the financial sector
RBI and IMF clash over pace of tightening
Staff report from the International Monetary Fund calls for ‘significant increases’ in policy rates, but the central bank is reluctant to cut off the economic recovery
G-20 governors should co-ordinate exit, says IMF
Fund recommends greater co-ordination of monetary policy as well as negative interest rates at the ECB and devaluations in emerging markets, in report to G-20
'Cornered' Argentina introduces new inflation index
New inflation index announced by the government yesterday is a step in the right direction, according to analysts, who nevertheless remain concerned about how data is collected
IMF paper finds highly indebted nations can still grow fast
Results of a new study contradict findings of Reinhart and Rogoff, who argued that growth declines at debt of more than 90% of GDP
Cœuré defends Troika to European Parliament
ECB’s top negotiator with European Parliament defends the adjustment programmes shaped by the Troika and tells politicians not to ‘blame the fire brigade for the fire damage’
Countercyclical prudential policies have ‘important implications' for monetary policy
Using a countercyclical macro-prudential instrument in addition to manipulating interest rates improves welfare, IMF paper finds
IMF mission to Iran urges monetary tightening to ‘entrench' recent disinflation
Article IV statement calls for simplified central bank mandate and greater focus on price stability; says new authorities are ‘well aware of challenges and need to advance reforms'
IMF sees ‘limited scope’ for RBA rate cuts
Article IV staff report says Reserve Bank of Australia’s accommodative monetary policy is ‘broadly appropriate’ but warns the central bank could struggle to offset further shocks
IMF voices concern over ‘weakening of central bank independence' in Bolivia
Any changes stemming from new constitution should ‘conserve supremacy of central bank law', says IMF; analyst says independence has not led to price stability
Asia uses macro-prudential policies to greater effect, IMF paper finds
Macro-prudential policy has curbed credit growth and bank leverage in several Asian countries over the past decade; loan-to-value ratio caps and housing tax measures among most effective instruments
Lagarde lends weight to global clamour for policy co-ordination
IMF managing director joins Rajan and others in renewed calls for monetary policy to take into account international spillovers, as Fed taper rocks emerging markets
Aid ‘surges' benefit countries where currency or inflation is allowed to rise
If large inflows of aid are ‘sterilised' in an attempt to curb inflation or maintain a set exchange rate, the economy will not feel the benefit of aid, a new IMF paper finds
Security of hard pegs ‘illusory', IMF economists find
Re-examination of exchange-rate regime orthodoxy finds hard pegs are too risky, but 'managed floats' can have 'significantly lower risks'
IMF paper finds remittances depend on source and recipient country business cycles
Level of remittances are negatively correlated with strength of recipient economy and positively with source economy; when both are weak, remittances continue, study shows
Central Bank of Peru revises annual growth and inflation rates downwards
Bank expects inflation, at 3% annualised in November, to converge to 2% target in 2014; IMF projects 2.5%, citing 'well-anchored expectations'
IMF research maps US shadow banks
Research uses IMF-developed global flow of funds (GFF) conceptual framework to analyse the shadow banking system in the US
Restrictions on capital outflows more effective when supported by strong fundamentals and institutions
IMF working paper finds tightening of restrictions fails to reduce net outflows when macroeconomic fundamentals, good institutions, or comprehensive existing restrictions are lacking