International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Crisis showed need for ‘more and better' stats, says IMF
Forum on improving statistics held in Washington in the same week as Myanmar joined the GDDS initiative; Argentina remains in the doghouse over inadequate GDP and inflation data
Spanish economist urges IMF to complete its ‘metamorphosis’
Bank of Spain economic study says the International Monetary Fund needs to test its new surveillance and lending policies before it can take its place as the ‘guarantor’ of the new economic order
IMF paper backs stress test ‘rules of thumb’
Researchers from the IMF and BIS say rough guides to the typical relationships between credit levels and bank solvency can be useful tools in bank stress tests
RBA's Debelle backs Mundell-Fleming model
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor tells IMF annual conference that recent papers have failed to convince him to abandon traditional models of exchange rate effects
Crisis a 'classic panic' in novel institutional context, says Bernanke
Speaking at the IMF annual research conference in DC, Fed chair warns of moral hazard arising from actions to limit crisis early on; outlines US long-term measures aimed at curbing such externalities
Krugman says ‘Greek-style’ crisis in US or UK would have ‘expansionary effect’
Economist extends Paul de Grauwe's point that countries borrowing in own currency are immune to self-fulfilling liquidity crises; says loss of investor confidence would raise output in large economies
Senior Fed staff consider further stimulus
Two of the Federal Reserve’s top economists have produced papers outlining the merits of ‘highly accommodative’ monetary policy, including a lower unemployment threshold
Dollarisation and institutional weakness hamper Congolese monetary policy
IMF paper highlights 'fiscal dominance' and 'lack of authority' as among reasons for central bank's ineffectiveness; strengthening current policy framework remains 'first-best option'
ECB faces parliamentary grilling on Troika track record
Senior managers from European Central Bank and European Commission defend the accountability and forecasting track record of the Troika in European Parliament hearing
Thailand’s Prasarn highlights ‘dramatic’ turnaround caused by Fed taper-talk
Embattled emerging market central banks trying to resist capital inflows suddenly had the opposite problem as Fed hinted at QE taper, but some may have tightened too fast, says Thai governor
Tax relief for debt finance helps banks and non-banks, IMF paper finds
There is no significant difference in corporate tax bias towards debt finance between banks and non-banks, according to IMF working paper; Size and leverage levels of firms matter
Poland's business cycle largely a function of EU developments
According to IMF paper, eurozone developments explain 50% of Poland's output and interest rate business cycle variance, but only 25% of changes in headline inflation
IMF's Lipton says Germany faces grave risks from global 'mismanagement'
Fund's first deputy managing director pleads with European powerhouse to 'lift its sights to the global horizon as well' as it carries on the work of the European project
IMF director delivers verdict on Abenomics one year on
Anoop Singh says Japanese prime minister’s stimulus plan has helped put Japan ‘at the centre of the global economic map’; tells Japan not to squander the opportunity
Slovene bank clean-up provides stress test dry run for ECB
IMF urges country to recapitalise banks quickly; academics see country as 'methodology experiment' for ECB, and warn comparisons with Greece and Cyprus could be self-fulfilling prophecies
IMF paper presents Global VAR model for analysing banking and sovereign risks
Researchers develop a global vector autoregression model that incorporates forward-looking contingent claims into its analysis of banking systems, sovereigns and macroeconomic conditions
Central Bank of West African States facing broken transmission mechanisms
Members of the IMF’s African department find the central bank’s ability to influence liquidity conditions in the WAEMU is restricted by the union’s ‘shallow’ financial system
Bank of Russia slashes forex intervention target
Halved intervention target brings rouble closer to free-float; IMF tells central bank to maintain reform momentum and resist calls to loosen policy
IMF paper warns half-hearted Japanese reforms would push up long-term rates
Researchers say long-term yields and banks’ interest rate exposures will increase if structural and fiscal reforms are not seen through to the end
IMF paper sets parameters for model short-term real interest rate
Working paper sheds light on a ‘crucial' but overlooked question - and shows that the elasticity of interest rate volatility plays a crucial role in explaining real interest rate dynamics
Structural reforms could soften austerity blow in eurozone core, paper finds
IMF researchers use integrated monetary and fiscal model to find core eurozone countries could offset the pain of austerity through structural reforms; the periphery, however, is another matter
G-20 inflation measure paves way for co-ordinating policy
New statistic aims to fill ‘data gap' identified in wake of the global financial crisis; follows growing calls for globally coordinated monetary policy as countries fret over effects of QE
IMF paper finds macro-prudential policy can offset loss of monetary autonomy
Researchers build DSGE model of the eurozone to find optimal monetary and macro-prudential mix; find macro-prudential policy boosts welfare and ‘lends a hand’ to monetary policy
Clamour for action on IMF quotas as US continues to stall
Central bank governors and finance ministers unite to urge ratification of IMF quotas reform to boost emerging market representation; Alexandre Tombini tells US to take action