Financial crisis
Fed loses appeal to protect names of bailed out banks
Federal Reserve appeal to withhold names and details of banks it bailed out in crisis dealt a further blow; central bank must now petition Supreme Court
Australia’s Battellino stresses importance of floating exchange rate
Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Ric Battellino says floating exchange rate regime helped dissipate external shocks to economy
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus – Annual Report (2009)
National Bank of the Republic of Belarus’ 2009 Annual Report shows worsening terms of trade
HKMA: Australia’s investment-led deficit well balanced
Hong Kong Monetary Authority study shows that current account deficits are not always a bad thing
Nordic and Baltic regions strike financial stability deal
Eight Nordic and Baltic countries sign Memorandum of Understanding on cross-border financial stability and crisis management
Too big to fail, too big to reform
Robert Pringle and Hugh Sandeman ask is this the damning verdict of the latest batch of books on the financial crisis?
Why attitudes to gold have changed
Jill Leyland investigates why the events of recent years, in particular the financial crisis, have tipped the balance away from net official sector selling towards net buying of gold.
Fed toughens rules on consumer protection
Federal Reserve announces measures to protect mortgage borrowers from deceptive practices
Rethinking reserve management
The crisis demands a rethink on both the size and composition of central banks’ reserves, argues Ludek Niedermayer.
How Ireland is reforming its central bank
A change of leadership offers Ireland’s central bank an opportunity to assert its independence from the country’s much maligned political and banking elite. It is doing much to grasp it, Claire Jones finds.
Denmark’s Bernstein explains new investment income estimation method
National Bank of Denmark governor Nils Bernstein says new method will enhance analysis of balance of payment movements
‘Bail-in’ rather than bailout, says European markets group
Association for Financial Markets in Europe proposes regulator-enforced version of contingent capital to replace state-funded bailouts; proposals still troublesome, Goodhart says
Reserves growth does not boost lending: Fed study
Federal Reserve study says notion that money multiplier can improve bank lending is misguided
Norway’s wealth fund slumps to first loss in a year
Government Pension Fund–Global posts $25 billion loss for first quarter; fund’s equity portfolio takes a beating, led by BP shares
BIS’s Hannoun flags dangers of exceptional measures
Bank for International Settlements’ Hannoun calls on central banks to shrink balance sheets
Commentators sharpen knives ahead of Bank’s forecasts
Leading media outlets criticise Bank of England’s forecasting methods ahead of Wednesday Inflation Report; former Bank economists say new model welcome but will not remedy rate-setters unfounded optimism, which underpins off-target predictions
BoK’s Kim: Asia was well prepared for market turmoil
Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-soo says Asian crisis taught region many lessons that helped prepare them in onset of the last crisis
Bank Indonesia plans rupiah redenomination: reports
Bank Indonesia acting governor Darmin Nasution says redenomination of the currency should be inflation neutral
Northern Rock’s bad bank posts first profit
Northern Rock Asset Management shows $267m profit for first half of year as split with so-called “good bank” lowers costs of funding; FSA slaps RBS with $9m fine for screening failures
Philosopher says financial crisis puts economics profession into disrepute
Philosopher Philip Mirowski says economists’ outdated theories had a large hand in fueling the financial crisis
BIS: Global banking at a crossroads
Bank for International Settlements study says financial crisis has changed the model for international banking
IMF: high indebtedness depresses growth
Fund study says higher initial debt levels have negative effect on growth
ECB closes in on inferior collateral with new haircut scheme
European Central Bank’s new discount schedule increases haircuts levied on troublesome collateral, such as asset-backed securities; analysts expect move to discourage pledging of risky assets