Interest rates
Lockhart admits Fed timescale for raising rates could change
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart says FOMC statement anticipating low federal funds rate levels until at least late 2014 was conditional on economic conditions
Parliamentary committee calls for Kenyan governor to resign
Parliamentary Select Committee finds governor's "conduct and behaviour incompatible with the holder of the office of governor of the Central Bank of Kenya"; calls for resignation
RBA surprises markets with rate hold
Reserve Bank of Australia policy board leaves cash rate unchanged despite market expectation of 25-basis point cut in rates due to weak external outlook
High borrowing costs discourage Eastern European firms from tapping banks, says ECB paper
European Central Bank study says many firms in Eastern Europe are put off by the high interest rates charged by foreign banks for a loan
Central Bank of Iceland paper highlights limitations of inflation indexed bonds
Central Bank of Iceland study shows inflation index-linked bonds in US, UK and Iceland are unreliable measures of the real interest rate
Fischer calls Israeli economy a ‘miracle’
Bank of Israel governor says peace deal is needed to achieve the growth and prosperity the country deserves; refuses to set timeline for returning interest rates to 'normal level'
Plosser bemoans 'confusion' over Fed communications
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia president Charles Plosser says decision to set time frame for when rates will remain exceptionally low had created confusion over Fed's policy statement
Colombia's Uribe explains why he is still raising rates
Central Bank of Colombia governor, José Darío Uribe, says rapid credit growth and inflation risks outweighed concerns about global economy; adds monetary tightening has worked elsewhere
Bangladesh Bank calls on government to borrow less
Bangladesh central bank wants to bring inflation to single digits and halt foreign currency reserve “depletion”; hopes government borrowing will not “crowd out” available liquidity in banking system
Thailand blames floods and ‘likely’ eurozone recession for rate cut
Bank of Thailand drops benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3%; says recession now "likely" in the eurozone
Fed reveals design of new interest rate projections
Federal Reserve releases templates to be used in next Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) to project participants' views of the appropriate path for monetary policy
ECB and BoE join other countries in rates hold
European Central Bank and Bank of England join the National Bank of Poland and Bank Indonesia in leaving interest rates on hold; ECB president welcomes U-turn on Greece private sector involvement
IMF paper measures the natural rate of interest
Fund study says the transformed money demand and observed output gap provides the best information about the natural interest rate
Bank of Israel report highlights policy split on rate-setting body
Bank of Israel report of Narrow Forum discussion shows one member of monetary committee dissented against decision to hold rates, instead preferring a 25-basis-point cut
Albania approves monetary policy strategy for 2012-2014
Bank of Albania renews monetary policy strategy; offers clarifications and elaborations on previous versions of aims
BIS paper examines sustainability of pension schemes
Bank for International Settlements study sheds light on effects of global economic downturn on the design of occupational pension schemes
BIS paper warns of risks from long-term interest rate volatility
Bank for International Settlements study cautions against the use of long-term interest rates as a policy variable
Draghi explains extraordinary policy measures
ECB president sets out the reasons behind governing council’s decision to cut the benchmark interest rate and introduce three measures to support bank lending and liquidity in the eurozone
Fed holds fire amid European chaos
Federal Open Market Committee points to 'strains' in global financial markets as it holds rates and reaffirms commitment to Operation Twist
European uncertainty reflected in central bank decisions worldwide
Germany, Austria, India and South Korea lower growth estimates as a slew of countries hold interest rates; world looks on and waits to see if Europe can agree a solution to the sovereign debt crisis
Sluggish growth outlook forces ECB to take drastic action
European Central Bank lowers rates by 25 basis points as sovereign debt crisis weighs in on growth; Governing Council reveals new liquidity measures to ease funding conditions
ECB paper tests eurozone balance sheet transmission mechanism
European Central Bank study shows central bank balance sheet operations can stimulate economic activity and inflation, but has its limitations
Thailand and China ease monetary policy
Thailand cuts benchmark rate and China lowers reserve ratio as eurozone crisis impact is felt in Asia; Thailand also keen to combat effects of devastating floods
Interest rate pass-through in Ghana protracted: IMF paper
Fund study finds lags in adjustment of wholesale market rates reduces the effectiveness of monetary policy conducted by the Bank of Ghana