Research
Sveriges Riksbank Inflation Report, No.1, 2004
Sweden's central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank, has published its First Inflation Report for 2004. The report said that there are increasingly clear signs that the Swedish economy is about to recover, after an unusually mild economic downturn. Inflation…
Back to the future? Assessing the deflation record
This BIS Working Paper looks back to a period when deflation was a regular feature of the economic environment, and says the phenomena comes in three basic types: the good, the bad and the ugly. It finds that despite periods of deflation it was not…
Return and volatility spillovers In Hong Kong
Laurence Fung and Ip-wing Yu discuss the effects of return and volatility spillovers in Hong Kong financial markets.
Foreign investment in emerging market economies
New CGFS publication and press release on the importance of financial sector foreign direct investment in bringing emerging market economies into the global financial system.
Central bank financial independence
This Bank of Spain Occasional Paper says that central bank independence is a multifaceted institutional design but the financial component has rarely been analysed. The paper sets out a comprehensive conceptual background for central bank financial…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Mar 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, March 2004 activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to improve.
Bank of Japan Monthly Report, March 2004
The Bank of Japan published its March 2004 Monthly Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments on 18 March. In the report the BOJ kept its economic assessment unchanged, saying the economy was in a gradual recovery.
RBNZ's FX intervention background paper
Background information on the proposal of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to extend the purpose for which it holds foreign exchange reserves. A capital injection into the RBNZ will be required to enable the Bank to absorb unrealised, temporary losses…
RBNZ's 2004 Monetary Policy Challenge
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is again hosting the Monetary Policy Challenge this year. The Challenge is aimed at secondary school economics students and is designed to expand their understanding of monetary policy.
Bank of England Inflation Attitudes Survey, Feb 04
The Bank of England's February 2004 quarterly Inflation Attitudes Survey was published on 15 March. Asked what would be best for the British economy on interest rates - 23% thought they should go up, the highest outturn since the series began. The…
RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement, March 2004
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has published its Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for March 2004. Speaking at the release of the Statement Governor Alan Bollard said New Zealand has continued to enjoy a period of sustained economic growth over recent…
ECB Monthly Bulletin, March 2004
The European Central Bank published its March 2004 Monthly Bulletin on 11 March. The Bulletin reported that the main scenario of a continued gradual recovery in the course of 2004 and 2005 remains valid.
BIS Quarterly Review March 2004
The BIS September 2003 quarterly review, released 8 March, said global equity markets rallied in early 2004 due to investors strong risk appetite, not just economic and corporate fundamentals.
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Spring 2004
The Spring 2004 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. The latest issue carries a report on the new plans for the Little Rock and Louisville branches after the restructurings are complete, and the senior vice president…
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, March 2003
The Federal Reserve released its March 2004 survey of Current Economic Conditions, known as the Beige Book, on 3 March. The report said economic activity continued to expand in January and February but on the jobs front the report found employment …
IMF Working Paper on inflation targeting
In the IMF Working Paper "Inflation Targeting and Exchange Rate Rules in an Open Economy" published on 24 February, the authors find that the exchange rate regime and measure of inflation targeted have crucial implications for the effect on output and…
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published its First Quarter 2004 Survey of Professional Forecasters on 23 January. Prospects for economic growth look stronger now than they did just three months ago, according to the 32 forecasters surveyed.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Feb 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, February 2004 activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to expand although indicators for general activity, new orders, and shipments fell from their…
Bank of Canada Review, Winter 2003
The Bank of Canada published its Review for Winter 2003 on 19 February. The Review includes articles titled "The Comparative Growth of Goods and Services Prices" and "Current Account Imbalances: Some Key Issues for the Major Industrialized Economies".
The East Asian Dollar Standard
This article by Prof. Ronald McKinnon of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research says that calls for China to revalue the yuan or allow it to float upward are not the answer. East Asian countries would be better served pegging to the dollar…
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Winter 2003
The Winter 2003 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. The latest issue carries a report on Check 21 which, it says, will speed up and simplify check processing. The Winter edition also reveals why the Bank is…
Forex volatility in EU accession countries
This IMF Working Paper analyses foreign exchange market volatility in four Central European EU accession countries in 2001-2003. It shows that periods of high volatility seem to be cross-correlated for Hungary, Poland and Czech, Slovak Republics. It…
Auditors Report on ECB's operational efficiency
The European Central Bank on 12 February published the report by the European Court of Auditors on the operational efficiency of the management of the ECB for 2002, together with the ECB's reply to it.
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 1st Quarter 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its regular Business Review for the First Quarter 2004. In the latest issue President Anthony Santomero discusses how some extraordinary events, including the bursting of the tech bubble, the…