Central Banking
US payrolls data proves strong
Non-farm payrolls beat expectations and wage growth rises, despite fears of a global slowdown
Bank of Mexico challenges public sector pay cap proposals
Central bank files complaint with Supreme Court amid concerns new law could threaten independence
Report reveals damage caused by Bank of Mongolia’s ‘quasi-fiscal’ policies
Discontinued policies may have undermined key parts of the central bank’s mandate, created inflation and generated huge losses, report finds
Conventional models beat machine learning in predicting crises, paper finds
Bundesbank paper contrasts performance of logit approach to machine learning
Staff cuts made at majority of central banks since 2013
But staff numbers grow at several banks, including ECB and Bank of England
Chinese central bank again seeks to boost lending to small businesses
PBoC doubles threshold for loans exempted under reserve-ratio requirements
Icelandic central bank questions reform proposals
Publishing rate paths may not work as intended, external MPC members warn
Lower interest rates make risky investments more likely – BoE paper
Gains from gambling increase when rates are low, researcher argues
Price shocks worse with poorly anchored inflation expectations – IMF paper
Inflation rises less and falls quicker after shocks when expectations are well anchored, study finds
Two women will join Bank of England’s financial policy committee
Colette Bowe and Jayne-Anne Gadhia to join FPC later this year
Long-serving South African deputy governor resigns
Francois Groepe has been in post since 2004 and ran national payment system
Fed independence under renewed fire from Trump
President unlikely to be able to fire Jerome Powell but could exert pressure in other ways, say observers
ECB appoints administrators to run Italian bank Carige
Resolution of troubled bank may face political difficulties
EU legal officer says Latvian government wrongly barred governor
Authorities provided no evidence to back claims governor acted corruptly, advocate general says
Low rates can encourage risk-taking – BoE paper
Author models the risk-taking channel of monetary policy alongside a “bankruptcy channel”
Euro area wage growth appears sustainable – ECB bulletin
ECB wage analysis shows increases are no longer being driven primarily by ‘wage drift’
Diverging regulatory policies could spell trouble for banks, report says
Deloitte says there are obvious signs of regulatory divergence as regulators and supervise focus on national policies
RBI reverses course on restructuring of troubled loans
Decision goes against previous demands that banks cease policy of “extend and pretend”
Minority representation at BoE requires ‘step change’ – Carney
Minority groups are underrepresented, report lower satisfaction and suffer higher staff turnover
2018: The year in review
The past year marked a return to instability, but also saw some innovations among central banks
Slovenian lawmakers appoint new governor
New appointee inherits acrimonious dispute between central bank and government over bail-in
Ukrainian central bank sues oligarch in Swiss courts for $200 million
NBU demands money from former bank owner it has accused of massive fraud
The PBoC’s efforts to solve the ‘impossible trinity’
Chinese central bank intervenes to manage offshore renminbi rate; uses swaps, rather than selling reserves in latest currency interventions
Bank of Mexico raises rates on high inflation and policy uncertainty
The governing board increased the policy rate by 25 basis points to 8.25%