Inflation
Inflation fears lower rate cut hopes
EUROPE - Prospects for an early reduction in interest rates by the European Central Bank receded further yesterday as higher than expected German inflation figures were announced.
What is wrong with Taylor Rules?
ARTICLE - Lars Svensson, professor of economics at Stockholm University, has published an article "What is Wrong with Taylor Rules? Using Judgment in Monetary Policy through Targeting Rules". In the paper, Svensson says that Taylor Rules are an…
Inflation targeting and the liquidity trap
ARTICLE - Bennett McCallum from the National Bureau of Economic Research has published an article on "Inflation Targeting and the Liquidity Trap". The paper says that 'liquidity trap' issues do not have an important bearing on the desirability of…
Icelandic April inflation higher than forecasts
ICELAND - Iceland's consumer price index rose 1.2 percent in Apr 2001 to stand 4.5 percent higher than a year earlier, the national statistics office Statice said on Apr 11.
Inflation targeting improved-CNB Niedermayer
CZECH REPUBLIC - The effectiveness of the inflation targeting of the Czech National Bank CNB should be improved with the shift to targeting of overall inflation and setting a corridor for price movements up to 2005, CNB vice-governor Ludek Niedermayer…
Inflation targeting and IMF conditionality
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - An IMF working paper "Inflation targeting in the context of IMF-supported adjustment programs" uses Brazil as an example how the IMF's traditional monetary conditionality should be adapted in IMF-supported adjustment programs with…
Norway c.bank keeps interest rates on hold
NORWAY - Norway's central bank kept interest rates on hold on Apr 4, 2001 and reaffirmed a neutral outlook for rates, in line with analysts' forecasts, after four hikes in key rates in 2000.
Financial stability, deflation, & monetary policy
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - This working paper by Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond economist Marvin Goodfriend explores the relationship between financial stability, deflation, and monetary policy.He says that monetary policy is a fundamental source of…
Brazil cbank forecasts inflation at 4.8% in 2001
BRAZIL - Brazilian inflation, as registered by the IPCA index, should reach 4.8 percent in 2001, above initial forecasts but within government targets, the central bank said Mar 30, 2001.
Iceland considering inflation target for two years
ICELAND - Iceland adopted an inflation target on Mar 28, 2001. Mar Gudmundsson, chief economist of the central bank, said to CentralBankNet that discussions about an inflation target had been going on for two years.
Norges Bank to introduce 2.5% inflation target
NORWAY - Norway's government on Mar 29, 2001 introduced a 2.5% inflation target for the country's central bank, in line with 'international practice' to raise the transparency of monetary policy and facilitiatate communications.
Iceland floats krona, adopts 2.5% inflation target
ICELAND - On Mar 27, 2001, Iceland decided to float the krona and adopt a 2.5% inflation target. The krona has come under much pressure in recent weeks most recently on Mar 26, forcing the central bank to intervene in the markets to maintain the currency…
New measure of core inflation in the UK-BoE paper
CENTRAL BANK RESEARCH - The Bank of England's monetary policy committee research unit has published a paper which addresses the usefulness of measures of core inflation. The paper, commissioned by external MPC member DeAnne Julius, uses an 'improved'…
Is inflation targeting feasible in Poland?-article
ARTICLE - "Is inflation targeting feasible in Poland?" is a new article in the journal The Economics of Transition, Volume 9: Issue 1, co-written by Peter Christoffersen at McGill University, and Torsten Slk and Robert Wescott at the International…
Q&A: New procedures for BoJ money mkt operations
ARTICLE - The Bank of Japan has published a short question and answer article about its new procedures for money market operations which started on Mar 19, 2001. It says that although the procedures are intended to produce the same effects as the "Zero…
Turkish cbank to adopt monetary policy committee
SPEECH - In his first speech as governor of the Central Bank of Turkey on Mar 19, 2001, Sureyya Serdengecti discusses the continuing liquidity problems faced the the country's state bank and how this is hampering the implementation of monetary policy. He…
Philippines to hit inflation target
NEWS - Philippine Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura has said that he expects the central bank confortably to meet the 6% - 7% inflation target set by the Philippine government.
New CEPR dicussion papers-Mar 2001
ARTICLE - The Centre for Economic and Policy Research are publishing four articles mostly by economist Charles Wyplosz on central bank isssues in March 2001 - Do We Know How Low Inflation Should Be?, How Risky is Financial Liberalization in the…
S.Africa still unaware of new MPC policy-Mboweni
South African markets are still not fully aware of the fact that the central bank has introduced a new monetary policy regime which focuses on inflation targetting, central bank governor Tito Mboweni said.
Case for Eurozone monetary indicators? - Svensson
In a Bank for International Settlements working paper "Money and inflation in the Euro Area: A case for monetary indicators?" Stefan Gerlach and Lars E O Svensson find that the "real money gap" (the gap between current real balances and long-run…
NZ govt monetary review suggests adopting MPC
A government review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's monetary policy by Swedish academic Professor Lars Svensson recommended the setting up of a formal monetary policy committee and altering the RBNZ's inflation objective to more formally target 1.5…
S.Africa's Mboweni not worried by Jan CPIX rise
South Africa's central bank governor Tito Mboweni said on Feb 28, 2001 he was not worried by an unexpected rise in the bank's targeted inflation measure during January 2001, and he still expected its target to be met by 2002.
Selected IMF working papers published
The IMF has recently published a number of working papers on subjects ranging from inflation targeting, central bank independence, to endogenous growth. Links to the papers are given.
'Why adopt transparency? Publishing forecasts'-ECB
A new ECB working paper by Petra Geraats has been published called "Why adopt transparency? The publication of central bank forecasts". It provides an explanation for the puzzling fact why several central banks have recently abandoned the usual secrecy…