China
China’s new financial and regulatory architects
Keeping Zhou Xiaochuan as governor of the People’s Bank of China will provide policy stability in the world’s second largest economy. But there are plenty of changes elsewhere
Booknotes: The Leaderless Economy: Why the World Economic System Fell Apart and How to Fix It
The title of Peter Temin and David Vines’ book, especially its subtitle, promises the reader a lot
Australia to shift 5% of foreign reserves to China
Deputy governor Philip Lowe reveals the Reserve Bank of Australia will invest around 5% of its foreign exchange reserves in China; Asian economists divided over significance of move
Bundesbank research finds strong role for China in global inflation dynamics
Discussion paper weighs cross-border effects of supply and demand shocks in China; results suggest Chinese shocks explain an average of 5% of total inflation across countries
IMF paper recommends China adopt ‘better-targeted’ macro-prudential policies
Study encourages China to tailor macro-prudential tools to regional and economics differences in country’s banks; suggests coupling policies with greater commercialisation
Zhou Xiaochuan stays on as PBoC governor
People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan staves off retirement for another term at the top of the central bank; will target rising inflation and capital reforms
Bank of Finland highlights ‘astonishing’ lack of information on Chinese government debt
Researcher warns opaque debt statistics are to China’s detriment and could threaten renminbi internationalisation; urges government to begin politically difficult process of improving transparency
Renminbi internationalisation to get boost from 60m overseas Chinese
Use of the renminbi by the 60-million strong Chinese diaspora will accelerate the currency’s use in global trade and reserves management. By Gary Smith.
Zhou Xiaochuan to stay on as governor of PBoC, says Reuters
China’s top central banker and renminbi reformer Zhou Xiaochuan may not step down from his post as previously expected, according to a news agency report
G-20 vows to resist entering currency wars
Commentators including Paul Krugman and Christine Lagarde reject concerns over possible currency war, as G-20 reaffirms commitment to exchange rate flexibility
World gold demand drops despite increased central bank purchases
Central bank purchases in 2012 reach highest level in 48 years, but Indian contraction leads global demand fall
‘Crisis in the eurozone is not over’, says MAS chief
MAS's Ravi Menon offers a roadmap to central banks and governments to help ‘normalise’ the global financial system; hits out at loose monetary policies and says fiscal policy debate is misinformed
The next ‘Mr RMB’
Five leading candidates have emerged as the likely successor to Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China. Hui Feng assesses their relative strengths and weaknesses
PBoC launches short-term liquidity operations
China’s central bank now offers repos and reverse repos with maturities of less than seven days; seen as a step towards interest rate liberalisation
Finnish paper finds sterilisation bonds can benefit Asia
Bank of Finland discussion paper examines rising use of sterilisation bonds by six central banks in Asia and finds ‘encouraging’ evidence of their effectiveness
PBoC statistics show rapid increase in renminbi trade
Efforts made by the People’s Bank of China to promote renminbi internationalisation start to pay off, as cross-border trade in local currency increases 41% in 2012
PBoC’s Zhou promises more 'opening up' in 2013
Zhou Xiaochuan suggests the PBoC will make greater efforts in 2013 towards deepening financial reforms and ‘opening up’
Central banks downsize in 2012
Number of central bankers falls by 1,500 to 471,000 in 2012; continues five-year trend of shrinking staff
The ghost at the IMF’s Tokyo feast
Robert Pringle looks back at the main themes of the IMF’s annual meeting, which was held in October in Tokyo, and forward to prospects for 2013
Finland paper sizes up Chinese reforms
Research published by the Bank of Finland examines financial liberalisation in China and what it means for the country’s monetary policy framework
RBA’s Stevens plays down Australian growth problems
Glenn Stevens calls talk of an end to the mining boom ‘over-hyped’, while the Chinese economy is not as weak as feared and there are some signs of a recovery in domestic demand
Investment drop in China would hit global growth, says IMF paper
Research says the economic reverberations of lower investment in China are becoming stronger
PBoC’s Yi urges IMF to complete quota and governance reforms
Deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China calls on remaining IMF members to approve 2010 quota and governance reforms; US has yet to accept the changes
IMF meeting set to reinforce global pessimism
Governments need to take urgent policy action to capitalise on the ‘breathing space’ created by central banks. But few attending the IMF meeting in Tokyo believe law-makers are fit for the task