Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)
RBA flags scope for easing despite inflation rebound
Central bank emphasises need to battle below-target inflation despite recent uptick; holds key interest rate but says future cuts may still be an option
Flurry of new central bank heads could continue into 2016
The past three months have brought 10 new central bank governors and a Fed president, after a period of relative stability; Central Bank Directory 2016 shows other terms expiring this year
Debelle highlights ‘rich potential’ in regulatory data
Regulatory reporting is still in its infancy, but already useful trends are starting to emerge, the RBA assistant governor says
Shocks to income have pushed Australian inequality higher, paper finds
Both income and consumption inequality have risen among Australian households due to the effect of short-term and long-term shocks to income, an RBA paper argues
Paper uses Okun’s Law to assess Australian potential output
Discussion paper published by Reserve Bank of Australia estimates potential output growth has fallen from around 5% in the 1970s to 2.9% now
Enforcement of global FX code of conduct still a work in progress, Debelle says
Reserve Bank of Australia’s Debelle notes the FX market is regulated differently from one jurisdiction to another when asked about enforcement of the planned global code
Stevens calls for end to obsession with central forecasts
RBA governor emphasises the uncertainty around forecasting; says he considered abolishing the central line in fan charts
RBA’s Debelle outlines potential benchmark rate reform
Australian consultation paper suggests modifications to the calculation of the bank bill swap rate, with one option expanding the set of transactions covered
RBA’s Kent sees positive side to Chinese readjustment
China’s economic rebalancing is likely to bring benefits to Australia’s economy as well as costs, Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor says
Australian property market must be watched by regulators, assistant governor says
Residential and commercial property prices are rising rapidly in Sydney and Melbourne, Australian assistant governor says; evidence of some ‘slipping in lending standards’
RBA deputy disappointed by data inaccuracies
Philip Lowe discusses two problems that have emerged in reporting of loans in housing market, stressing value of high-quality data
Rising mortgage rates do not demand policy response, says RBA’s Stevens
Recent increases in mortgage rates have reversed some of the central bank’s easing, but there is no need to lean against the movement at present, governor says
RBA sees no ‘financial stability case’ for repo CCP
Central bank decides not to actively encourage the (re)creation of a repo-focused central counterparty, but says it will work with the industry if it wants to take the project further
RBA reduces share of euro in reserves
Australian central bank cuts euro holdings by 10% while nearly doubling RMB share of reserve portfolio; running yield ‘very low' at 0.2% at end-June, annual report says
RBA’s Edey explains cross-border treatment of CCPs
Australia will not insist on domestic incorporation for overseas CCPs; regulators favour a ‘graduated framework’ for imposing additional requirements on the most important CCPs if necessary
RBA’s Richards gauges sentiment on card payments regulation
Head of payments policy highlights areas of ‘common ground’ in response to issues paper on card payments regulation, but also some ‘real differences’ between stakeholders
RBA’s John Simon says low rate a ‘poor predictor’ of crises
Low interest rates of themselves did not cause the global financial crisis and have always been a poor predictor of economic instability, senior Reserve Bank of Australia economist argues
People: FCA names COO; RBA shuffles assistant governors
Financial Conduct Authority announces Georgina Philippou as COO; Michele Bullock named assistant governor for business services in Australia; and more
RBA board holds off judging impact of volatility on trading partners
The board assessed the troubles in China and market volatility to have ‘increased the downside risks’ to the global outlook at its meeting this month, minutes show
RBA deputy welcomes ‘considerable’ exchange rate adjustment
Philip Lowe says flexibility of the exchange rate, labour market and monetary policy have helped Australian economy adjust to ‘downswing’ in commodity prices and mining investment
RBA’s Ellis sees gaps in understanding of credit and property price relationship
The Australian central bank's head of financial stability discusses what economists do and don’t know about the property market, highlighting areas that need more work
Research questions whether Asia development has permanent effect on long-run price of commodities
RBA paper reveals that developments in Asia has had a significant effect on the level of commodity prices, but the increase was smaller than first thought
RBA economist proposes ‘survival model’ of banknote life
The research discussion paper outlines an alternative method of predicting how long banknotes will last, finding the ‘survival model’ produces less volatile estimates
Inflation targeting should be improved, not replaced, RBA paper says
Rather than a ‘fundamental re-engineering’ of inflation targeting, central banks should adopt a flexible approach that pays some heed to output, authors argue