Interest rates
Banque de France paper highlights risks of financial markets opacity
Researchers find imperfect information on financial intermediaries’ exposures encourages risk-taking; suggest low interest rates and ‘gambling for resurrection’ raise systemic risk
Australia and Sri Lanka leave rates on hold
Reserve Bank of Australia and Central Bank of Sri Lanka highlight worsening economic conditions around the world as they announce benchmark rates will remain unchanged
Central Bank of Colombia paper finds delayed monetary policy responses
Working paper develops new models of output gap and neutral interest rate; argues interest rate changes by central bank lag behind movements in output
IMF urges Russian central bank to tighten policy
Article IV consultation recommends ‘gradual further tightening’ of monetary policy; preparation needed for informal inflation targeting in 2014
IMF urges US policy-makers to take action against fiscal cliff
Conclusions of IMF Article IV consultation with US highlight risks from fiscal cliff and debt ceiling; calls on policy-makers to strike deal at ‘delicate juncture’ for world economy
Draghi says ECB ready to make further bond purchases
ECB president says central bank is prepared to intervene in sovereign bond markets to prop up ailing eurozone economies; ECB holds rates, as does Bank of England
IMF paper warns against delays in Japanese fiscal consolidation
Working paper studies impact of budget deficit in Japan on intergenerational inequality; finds delaying budget cuts would adversely affect younger generations
India holds rates as growth expectation falls
Reserve Bank of India releases First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2012–13; holds rates, lowers growth prediction and raises inflation projection
Sarb’s Marcus discusses developments in central bank communication
Gill Marcus says communication has become ‘fundamental’ to central bank strategy, but suggests there are limits to usefulness of transparency
Central banks hold rates amid continued uncertain outlook
Central banks in Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria and Thailand maintain benchmark interest rates, citing fragile global economy; domestic growth prospects vary
Fed paper finds ‘surprising’ impact of monetary policy on long-term real rates
Working paper suggests reasons for the unexpected effect of short-term monetary policy on long-term real rates; argues this is driven by demand from ‘yield-oriented’ investors
IMF urges UK to take further measures to promote growth
Staff report on UK Article IV Consultation urges policy-makers to act in order to boost ‘flat’ economy; says fiscal tightening may need to be eased next year
RBA minutes show cautious optimism
Minutes of Reserve Bank of Australia’s July monetary policy meeting note strong growth in domestic economy and signs of external recovery despite weakened growth in US, Europe and China
BoJ minutes reveal unanimous vote for rate hold
Minutes of Bank of Japan’s June monetary policy meeting show unanimous support for rate hold; say deflation a 'critical challenge'
Bank of Canada holds rates steady
Governing council decides to keep benchmark rate at 1%; says modest tightening of monetary policy may be justified if recovery continues
Bundesbank paper studies changes in European monetary transmission
Discussion paper considers effect of financial crisis on transmission of European Central Bank monetary policy; finds decrease in sensitivity of Euribor to changes in central bank rates
China growth slows for sixth consecutive quarter
Figures published by National Bureau of Statistics of China show year-on-year GDP growth of 7.6% in second quarter of 2012; growth has been steadily slowing since beginning of 2011
Brazil and South Korea cut rates amid economic gloom
Central Bank of Brazil and Bank of Korea cut interest rates due to poor economic outlook and declines in indicators; Brazil marks eighth consecutive reduction while Korea makes first cut since 2009
RBI governor speaks on microfinance regulation challenges
Duvvuri Subbarao warns of risks posed by unregulated microfinance; sets out efforts by central bank and government to create 'comprehensive' regulation
Danish central bank acts to counter negative interest rate
National Bank of Denmark lowers certificates of deposit rate to -0.2%; raises banks' current account limits to help them keep funds away from negative rate
PBoC moves to bolster bank lending with asymmetric rates cut
Chinese central bank cuts interest rates and expands bank lending bands for the second time in a month to combat sluggish growth
Slew of central banks hold rates amid economic uncertainty
Riksbank, National Bank of Poland, Reserve Bank of Australia and Central Bank of Colombia all keep policy rates unchanged; central banks offer mixed message on global economy
RBI paper examines monetary policy transmission
Working paper studies channels of monetary policy in India; finds main impact made via interest rates but also identifies credit and asset-price effects
Peru central bank paper models interbank lending
Working paper develops New Keynesian model including an interbank lending market to analyse dual effect of reserve requirements and interest rates