United States
Kansas Fed paper looks at impact of recessions on US workers
Participation rate of “prime-age” workers most likely to vary with business cycle, paper says
Shadow banks ‘interfere’ with macro-pru – paper
Institutional function should determine whether institutions are regulated, say researchers
San Francisco’s Williams: monetary policy has reached ‘limit’
Monetary policy has done all that it can to foster growth, says San Fran president, calling on fiscal policy to now “step up”
Lower immigration slows growth, warns Minneapolis Fed president
US population growth has slowed down over the last decade due to a lower fertility rate. Productivity is also underperforming and contributing to the lower rates of GDP expansion in the US
Paper’s forecasting technique using Markov-switching models
Results outperform Fed’s survey of professional forecasters, says Bank of Spain paper
IMF research explores effects of lighter rule on US banks
Republicans in Congress claim Dodd-Frank increases complexity and hampers small banks’ lending
BoE working paper examines ‘exorbitant privilege’ benefits
Economist analyses whether the UK enjoyed the same benefits as the US when it was the pre-eminent issuer of a global reserve currency; findings show fundamental differences between the two in terms of investment patterns
Fed paper: corporate bond buying can misallocate capital
Capital misallocation effects can mean corporate bond purchase schemes underperform QE based on sovereign bonds, say economists
San Francisco Fed economist explores methods to forecast interest rates
Michael Bauer aims to forecast interest rates based on the current level and long-run trend, and a narrative linking both
Banks have never been very ‘boring’ – NY Fed economist
Banks have consistently innovated throughout history, and regulations have struggled to keep up, Nicola Cetorelli writes
Fed can no longer ‘wait and see’, says Williams
Waiting to unwind the balance sheet could “overheat the economy”, says San Fran president, who believes the US has “fully recovered” from the recession
FDIC’s Hoenig warns on relaxing bank capital requirements
The Trump administration claims regulations hamper lending and economic growth, but Thomas Hoenig argues capital is an essential source of funding for banks
Stanley Fischer analyses the factors behind low real interest rates
The economist emphasises government policy uncertainty in the US regarding health care, regulation, taxes and trade, as well as higher savings and weak investment
Fed’s Brainard says US is ‘falling short’ in diversifying economics
Federal Reserve Board governor highlights the benefits of diversifying the economics profession, urging students to consider a career before “shutting the door”
Banks not ‘boring’ before Glass-Steagall repeal, New York Fed economist says
There is little evidence of an explosion in non-traditional activity after Glass-Steagall was dropped, despite the conventional narrative, economist says
US taxes low by global standards, say Chicago Fed economists
Overall burden of taxes is low by OECD standards, and taxes on capital income are notably lower than in Germany, economists say
Quarles defends past views amid Senate grilling
Trump’s pick for Fed regulation chief says hindsight is a wonderful thing, as he defends actions around crisis; Quarles says the Fed can improve regulatory transparency
Fed to begin shrinking balance sheet ‘relatively soon’
Rates remain on hold as the FOMC eyes below-target inflation, while the wording change implies that action on the balance sheet could begin sooner than previously expected
Trump says Yellen still in the running for renewed term
US president says he would consider reappointing Janet Yellen, although Gary Cohn and “two or three others” are in contention
Task force calls on Fed to upgrade settlement system
Faster payments task force urges Fed to expand settlement service to all hours and open it to new participants; Fed may need to play an “operational role”
US regulators hand Volcker rule exemption to foreign firms
Agencies are conducting a review of how the Volcker rule is applied to foreign investment funds, as some appear to be captured unintentionally
IMF gloom on US and UK balanced by brighter spots elsewhere
IMF raises projections for China, Japan and eurozone as the UK and US falter; maintains global growth forecasts at 3.5% in 2017
Fed fines BNP Paribas over forex manipulation
French bank is to pay $246 million to settle an investigation of misconduct
Fed paper: portfolio holdings have ‘statistically significant’ effect on rates
Research studies composition of Fed’s Treasury portfolio and impact on yields from 1985-2016