Category: Central Banks
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Central Banks Monetary Policy Week in Review / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The past week in monetary policy saw six emerging market central banks announce interest rate decisions. Those that altered interest rate levels were: Israel +25bps to 3.25%, and Nigeria +50bps to 8.00%. Meanwhile those that held interest rates unchanged were: Pakistan 14.00%, Turkey 6.25%, Georgia 8.00%, and Mexico 4.50%. The Central Bank of Nigeria also raised its bank cash reserve requirement by 200bps to 4% from 2%.
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Monday, May 23, 2011
Central Banking Quicksand, Nothing Learned from History! / Politics / Central Banks
By: Submissions
John Rolls Submits: George Smith writes: In 1903, a lawyer in Germany took out an insurance policy and made payments on it faithfully. When the policy came due in 20 years he cashed it in and bought a single loaf of bread with the proceeds. [1] He was fortunate. If he had waited a few days longer, the money he received would have bought no more than a few crumbs.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Central Bank Monetary Policy Update / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The past week in monetary policy was relatively quiet with only 5 central banks announcing monetary policy decisions, and of those, only 1 adjusting its policy stance. Vietnam was the only bank to adjust monetary policy settings; increasing its reverse repurchase rate by 100 basis points to 15.00%. Meanwhile those that held their monetary policy interest rates unchanged were: Serbia (12.50%), Hungary (6.00%), Sri Lanka (7.00%), and Japan (0.10%). Elsewhere in monetary policy news, the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of England, and US Federal Open Market Committee all released the minutes from their recent monetary policy meetings.
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Friday, May 20, 2011
The Effects of Freezing the Fed Balance Sheet / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Frank_Shostak
By the end of June, the expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet is expected to come to an end. According to economic commentators, Fed officials are expected to initially hold the central bank's balance sheet steady — currently at $2.75 trillion — by reinvesting the proceeds from maturing Treasuries and mortgage bonds. Thereafter, these commentators believe, as economic activity starts to gain strength, Fed officials are likely to shrink the size of the balance sheet by selling assets.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Federal Reserve Elitism, Immunity And Outstaying One’s Welcome / Politics / Central Banks
By: Rob_Kirby
When The Bank of International Settlements was formed back in 1930, two board seats were allocated to the U.S. Federal Reserve but for many years [decades actually] the Fed did not name anyone to these positions. As reported by Reg Howe at the Golden Sextant years ago, The Federal Reserve finally took up their seats as directors of the BIS back in 1994. Howe never did articulate the importance or assign a reason as to why the Fed took their seats on the BIS at that time, but he did question the timing:
Friday, May 13, 2011
The End of Bernanke's "End Game" / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: William_Anderson
In a recent screed masquerading as the thoughts of a Nobel prize winner in economics, Paul Krugman excoriates those who speak of
Read full article... Read full article...fear: fear of a debt crisis, of runaway inflation, of a disastrous plunge in the dollar. Scare stories are very much on politicians' minds.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Bernanke Double Talk Creates Opportunity / Politics / Central Banks
By: John_Browne
When Fed Chairmen speak, the public is supposed to listen; and, historically, they have. Yet, Chairman Bernanke's remarks at his historic first press conference were met by a tidal wave of skepticism. Although many of the mainstream outlets, especially those lucky enough to be granted question slots, characterized his performance as "serious" and "masterful," most rank-and-file Americans were left with a very different impression.
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Thursday, May 12, 2011
A ‘New Normal’ how Fed policy influences global financial markets / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: ECR_Research
The consequences of the ‘new normal’ (coined by El-Erian of PIMCO) are not limited to the US, but have profound implications how we need to analyze the world economy and financial markets.
The time has passed that the rest of the world followed the US economic cycle closely. The growth dynamic in especially the emerging markets have become much more important, for the rather simple fact that US consumption growth isn’t the single locomotive for the world economy any more. And if we should believe economists, the US consumer will not regain this position in the foreseeable future. They will be too busy paying down debt and saving for retirement. Hardly any economist will disagree with this.
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Sunday, May 08, 2011
Emerging Markets Monetary Policy Tightening Still Running Strong / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The week ending the 7th of May saw continued emerging market monetary policy tightening, with developed market central banks holding off from further tightening. Of the central banks that made decisions on monetary policy settings this week, those that increased were: India +50bps to 7.25%, Philippines +25bps to 4.50%, and Malaysia +25bps to 3.00%.
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Sunday, May 08, 2011
Bernanke's Bubblenomics; Who Wins and Who Loses / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mike_Whitney
Let's talk Bubbles.
Assets bubbles require massive amounts of leverage. But too much leverage can destabilize the system, so it needs to be regulated. But Wall Street doesn't like restrictions on leverage because it can make more money by borrowing like crazy, inflating a ginormous bubble, skimming off the profits, and cashing in before the crash. So, the Fed ignores Wall Street's "gearing" operations and pretends not to see what's going on. It becomes a bubble "enabler" by lowering interest rates, easing credit and waving-off tighter regulations. It's all part of the game. The Fed works to help its core constituents while everyone else is put at risk.
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Saturday, May 07, 2011
New York Times, the Lying Mouthpiece for the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
On August 15, 1971, a Sunday, President Nixon unilaterally suspended the last traces of the gold standard. He "closed the gold window" on his own authority. From that time on, no government or central bank has been able to exchange dollars for Treasury gold at a fixed price. Nixon broke the Bretton Woods agreement of 1944. He broke the nation's word. He cheated. That was his way. Ever since that day, American monetary policy has been Nixonomics.
Friday, May 06, 2011
They Want Us to Love the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: William_Anderson
I recently took time from criticizing the actions of the Federal Reserve System (and associating with my "End the Fed" friends) to attend a conference in New York City that was hosted by none other than the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As much as anything, I was curious as to what goes on at a Fed conference, and it also gave me the chance to visit friends in the area and to appear on Judge Andrew Napolitano's show, Freedom Watch.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Washington DC has become a Significant Risk to Investors’ Portfolios / Politics / Central Banks
By: David_Urban
S&P’s warning on the US credit rating and the subsequent refusal to acknowledge the problem should give investors pause.
The inability to tackle the budget deficit and debt problem is causing the Dollar to selloff and head towards levels not seen since late 2009.
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Sunday, May 01, 2011
The Federal Reserve Destroying the U.S. Empire, A Fistful of Dollars / Politics / Central Banks
By: James_Quinn
It is not easy to destroy the greatest empire in the history of mankind. The 20th Century was the American Century, but as with all empires, the combination of hubris, monetary debasement, imperial overreach and delusional overconfidence have set in motion the inevitable downfall of the American Empire. The policies, decisions, beliefs, and institutions implemented over decades have led the country to the threshold of financial disaster. Based on my observations, a catastrophic combination of demographics, fiat currency debasement, titanic levels of debt, smothering taxation, power in the hands of the few and Wall Street greed have led us to peak Empire. It will be downhill from here as we experience collapse, revolution and ultimately, retribution for the guilty and presumed guilty. I have already addressed the Baby Boomer generation’s contribution to our current plight, to the delight and accolades of Boomers across the land in For a Few Dollars More – Part One. The Boomers were a victim of their size and the timing of their arrival on the scene of empire collapse. Their delusions of debt based wealth and me first attitude could not have been satiated without the creation of the Federal Reserve and the institution of the personal income tax in 1913.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Is the Bernank Smart Enough to Resign Before the Next Stock Market Crash? / Politics / Central Banks
By: Robert_Murphy
The big financial news this week was the Federal Reserve's first press conference. The financial press and bloggers have already parsed Bernanke's every last syllable, but I'll make some observations that I haven't seen elsewhere.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Bernanke Falls Flat / Politics / Central Banks
By: John_Browne
Despite loud huzzahs from a variety of boosters who proclaimed that Chairman Bernanke spoke with gravitas and wisdom at the first ever Federal Reserve press conference, the wider investing public clearly saw the performance as unconvincing. During and immediately after the proceedings the prices of gold and silver rose strongly to new highs as the U.S. dollar plummeted. The affair seemed to solidify the understanding that Bernanke and his cohorts have no intention whatsoever to reverse the current trend of inflation and a weakening dollar.
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Friday, April 29, 2011
Bernanke, How to Be a Central Bank Celebrity / Politics / Central Banks
By: Bill_Bonner
Bernanke spoke!
Yes, he held a press conference. Why would the world want a press conference from a central banker? Ah…good question. Because he’s a celebrity… He’s powerful. He moves and he shakes. He’s as popular as William and Kate put together.
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Friday, April 29, 2011
Federal Reserve For Dummies / Politics / Central Banks
By: Videos
From the bears who explained Quantitative Easing, we now get a crash test dummy simplifying the Federal Reserve's current outlook on life.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Grand Theft Bernanke, The Quantitative Easing Scam is Exposed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mike_Whitney
It's the biggest flim-flam in the nation's history. But, thanks to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the scam has been exposed and the public can now get a good look at the type of swindle that passes as monetary policy.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Ron Paul Rips into Bernanke's Ridiculous Fed Press Conference / Politics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
"Chairman Bernanke's press conference today was unprecedented, and it demonstrates that Federal Reserve officials are very concerned about growing public criticism of Fed policies. Although Mr. Bernanke predictably provided no substantive information, the American people want real answers about Fed bailouts, lending to foreign banks, and most of all inflation. Mr. Bernanke continues to ignore his culpability for the inflation all Americans suffer due to the Fed's relentless monetary expansion. Rising prices are the direct result of Fed devaluation of our dollar. Yet rather than addressing the Fed's loose dollar policy, Mr. Bernanke continues to assure us that inflation is not a problem.
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