Inflation
US inflation low says Fed nominee Donald Kohn
USA - Federal Reserve Board nominee Donald Kohn said on Thursday that US inflation was "pretty darn low" and that the economy was looking healthy: "we are getting awfully close to some zone of price stability if we are not probably already in it".
Riksbank Inflation Report, June 2002
REPORT - Sweden's Riksbank has released its Inflation Report for June 2002. It provides a basis for monetary policy decisions and to make the Riksbank's deliberations known to a wider public.
Congress pushes for inflation targeting at the Fed
USA - A key member of Congress is attempting to pressure the Federal Reserve into adopting an inflation targeting regime. Although there is some support for this at the Fed, Chairman Alan Greenspan is vehemently opposed to the idea.
Eurozone inflation falls but M3 grows
GERMANY - A marked drop in euro zone inflation in May strengthened beliefs that the ECB will hold fire on interest rates, although its key money gauge M3 moved further away from its benchmark of 4.5%, growing to 7.5% from 7.3% in March.
Brazil central bank sees '02 inflation over 5 pct
BRAZIL - Brazil's central bank projected inflation this year of "slightly above" 5 percent, according to minutes of its rate-setting meeting last week released Wednesday.
Unthinkable that Bank should expect otherwise
LETTER - Sir, While esteeming the Bank of England's quarterly inflation report as "an impressive showcase for the Bank's latest thinking", Observer finds that "it can be a bit samey: the Bank predicts that inflation will be at or close to its target with…
MPC pay rise over inflation at Bank of England
UK - Members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee saw their pay rise by more than inflation last year, thanks to the standard practice of uprating salaries in line with the government's inflation target. The Bank's annual report also casts…
Bank of Canada Review, Spring 2002
RESEARCH - The Bank of Canada Review is a quarterly publication that contains economic commentary and feature articles. The Spring 2002 edition was released on 16 May.
Outgoing MPC member criticises B of E rates record
UK - The Bank of England would have delivered a significantly more impressive performance on both growth and inflation if interest rates had been kept lower over the past few years, according to research carried out by Sushil Wadhwani, a soon to depart…
Strong appeal
FEATURE - An emotional day yesterday for Ian Plenderleith - by Bank of England standards at least. The outgoing head of financial market operations has always been taciturn when helping to unveil the inflation report, reports Thursday's Financial Times.
Brazil's central bank calms inflation fears
BRAZIL - Arminio Fraga, the president of the Brazilian central bank, on Friday sought to alleviate concern over accelerating inflation after the consumer price index posted a 0.8 per cent increase in April. This brings the increase in consumer prices…
Australia's reserve bank raises interest rates
AUSTRALIA - Australia's central bank has raised interest rates for the first time in almost two years in a bid to curb inflation and protect its booming economy.
St Louis Fed official on guard for inflation
US - St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole on Thursday warned that policymakers must be on guard and said low and stable inflation was key to keeping the current U.S. economic expansion strong and long-lasting.
Turkish c bank says it meets IMF monetary targets
TURKEY - Turkey's Central Bank said on Wednesday it had met monetary targets for March and April agreed under a $16 billion IMF lending package tasked with slashing inflation and raising growth.
ECB stands in contrast to Bank of England
FEATURE - Tuesday's London edition FT reports on the difficulties central banks can face in identifying and maintaining ideal inflation targets.
IMF official-Japan ought to adopt inflation target
JAPAN - The Bank of Japan needs to adopt an inflation target to stop price falls within 12-18 months, an International Monetary Fund official said Tuesday.
Money and Inflation in the Euro Area
RESEARCH - Paper by Stefan Gerlach of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Lars E.O Svensson of Princeton University, April 2002.
Zimbabwe to target money supply growth
ZIMBABWE - Concerted action aimed at curtailing monetary growth and increasing the output of goods and services in the economy is vital if a sustainable reduction in inflation to levels that promote investment and growth is to be achieved, warns the…
Speech by U Backstrom of Sveriges Riksbank, 17 Apr
SPEECH - In the speech 'Perspective on the inflation target' Backstrom said the Swedish economy may be close to, or even above, full resource utilisation noting this posed a risks to future inflation.
High resource use a worry for Sweden's c bank
SWEDEN - The Swedish economy may be running close to or even above full resource utilisation, the governor of Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank, said on Wednesday, adding this posed risks for inflation in the future.
UK inflation edges higher
UK - New figures have shown that UK inflation edged slightly higher in March.
Inflation Targeting and the Inflation Process
RESEARCH - Reserve Bank of Australia Research Discussion Paper - Inflation Targeting and the Inflation Process: Some Lessons from an Open Economy by Guy Debelle and Jenny Wilkinson, Published in January 2002.
Asset Prices and Inflation Targeting
RESEARCH - Asset Prices on a Flexible Inflation Targeting Framework by Stephen G Cecchetti, Hans Genberg and Sushil Wadhwani, April 2002. Prepared for the conference on "Asset Price Bubbles: Implications for Monetary, Regulatory, and International…
ECB sees upturn but slower CPI decline
GERMANY - The European Central Bank on Thursday maintained its assessment that the euro zone economy was recovering but said high oil prices could lead to slightly higher inflation than predicted earlier this year.