Inflation
Inflation targeting can boost stability-Bank paper
This article from Reuters, published Thursday 17 August, takes a look at the recent research paper from the Bank of England, co-authored by governor Mervyn King.
BoE paper on the danger of inflating expectations
According to the Bank of England Working Paper "The danger of inflating expectations of macroeconomic stability: heuristic switching in an overlapping generations monetary model" the volatility of inflation and output has fallen in most advanced…
Romanian central bank confident of inflation drop
The Romanian central bank said Wednesday 16 August it is confident of a drop in inflation, while promising to maintain its cautious approach to monetary policy, guarding against the possibility of inflation rising again.
Bank of England drafts first 'Dear Gordon' note
This recent article from Bloomberg presents a fictional letter to UK chancellor Gordon Brown written by Mervyn King in the future explaining why the Bank of England exceeded its inflation target by more than 1 percent.
San Francisco Fed's Economic Letter
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Economic Letter "Would an inflation target help anchor U.S. inflation expectations?" published Friday 11 August says countries with explicit inflation targets have done a better job at anchoring inflation…
Report says US considering inflation gauge change
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics is contemplating a change in the consumer price index that may have an impact on how markets and policymakers interpret inflation data, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday 14 August, citing a government official.
Zimbabwe's Gono warns of 'inflation dragon'
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe chief Gideon Gono urged Friday 11 August a fight against the "inflation dragon," saying it still posed a major threat to the economy although the rate has fallen back to just under 1 000% recently.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, August 2006
The European Central Bank published its August 2006 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 10 August. In the report the ECB said it will raise interest rates further to contain inflation if the eurozone economy develops as it expects.
Bank of England Inflation Report, August 2006
The Bank of England published its August 2006 Inflation Report on 9 August. In the report the Bank said its expected profile for growth and inflation over the next two years was higher than in May.
Zeti says guidelines for takaful operators soon
The guidelines set for takaful operators in Malaysia will be issued "soon," according to Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Is King readying his pen reluctantly or eagerly?
The UK press has jumped on the admission by Mervyn King that he might soon have to write a letter to the chancellor if inflation climbs above the 3% limit, but such a letter would not be the admission of failure that many imply.
Mishkin sees benefits in inflation target range
According to this article by Reuters, published Wednesday 2 August, a new study by incoming Federal Reserve governor Frederic Mishkin says inflation target ranges can help central banks sidestep political pressure to let prices rise and achieve low…
Belgium's Quaden says all things possible
Belgian National Bank governor Guy Quaden said in a radio interview it is possible for the European Central Bank to control inflation at the same time as promoting growth.
Australia bank chief faces a tough debut
According to this article by Reuters, published Tuesday 1 August, new RBA governor Glenn Stevens is likely to upset politicians and Australia's heavily indebted homeowners, with his chief concern the control of inflation.
IMF paper on inflation forecasting
The IMF Working Paper "The role of seasonality and monetary policy in inflation forecasting" suggests a new econometric approach for jointly determining inflation forecasts and monetary policy stances, particularly where seasonal fluctuations of economic…
Turkey's year-end inflation may double target
Year-end inflation in Turkey is likely to climb to 10.5 pct, double the official target of 5.0 pct, central bank governor Durmus Yilmaz said Friday 28 July.
What Ben Bernanke could learn from New Zealand
According to this article from Bloomberg, published Friday 28 July, while Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and the world's biggest policy makers don't often pay attention to New Zealand, they would be wise to follow Alan Bollard's progress.
Minutes suggest smaller rate cuts in Brazil
Brazil's central bank said Thursday 27 July it sees a "low probability" of inflationary pressures in the coming quarters, but interest rate cuts may need to be smaller to avoid a pickup in inflation.
Comment: Small steps or big bang?
A recent collection of papers published by the Bank for International Settlement (BIS) adopts a cautious line in advocating inflation targeting for poor African countries, which may lack the "preconditions" for the regime.
Bernanke's testimony to Congress
In testimony given on 19 July Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve warned that stubbornly high inflation could harm the U.S. economy and that the U.S. central bank must guard against rising prices taking hold.
Comment: Bernanke focuses on risks
In his remarks following the delivery of the Fed's semi-annual monetary policy to Congress, Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, adopted an approach very much in keeping with his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. What does this mean for the Fed's inflation targeting…
Inflation targeting in dollarized economies
According to this Working Paper from the Central Bank of Chile, the shift to an inflation targeting regime has contributed to the relatively low inflation observed in some emerging market economies.
Stern says Fed will remain diligent
The Federal Reserve is committed to its responsibility of avoiding a damaging rise in inflation, Minneapolis Fed president Gary Stern said on Thursday 13 July.
BoK says inflation outweighs slowdown risk
Bank of Korea assistant governor Yeung-Kyun Rhee said Thursday 13 July that the current focus should be on inflation rather than growth in the South Korean economy.