Economics
Sri Lankan central bank reveals inflation spike in 2012
Sri Lankan annual report says economic growth, while still strong, fell in 2012 while inflation rose sharply; central bank increased reserves by 15%
Contribution of Irish financial sector to GDP ‘overstated’
Paper questions the statistical methodology behind claim that Irish financial sector contributes €15 billion to country’s output
BIS paper urges statistics expansion
Research tells policy-makers to take advantage of the ‘sense of urgency’ that follows financial crises to expand the data they collect, including more comprehensive information on banks
ECB’s Cœuré damns ‘Panglossian’ view of currency war danger
ECB board member’s comments on ‘dangerously alluring’ monetary easing come a week after Bernanke claimed widespread QE is an ‘enrich thy neighbour’ policy
Canadian deputy says global demand must ‘rotate’
John Murray warns that a lack of co-operation in global rebalancing will only make the situation worse; says global GDP could contract by $6 trillion by 2015
Jwala Rambarran looks to exploit ‘Southern Silk Road’
Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago governor looks to exploit trade relationships with emerging markets; identifies Bollywood potential
Australia adjusting well to ‘profound impact’ of strong Asian growth, says paper
Research examines consequences of strong Asia-Pacific growth on Australian economy, finding currency appreciation and anchored inflation helped economy adjust
ECB threatens to cut off liquidity support to Cyprus
Governing council says no more emergency liquidity will be provided to Cypriot banks if a deal is not reached by Monday; negotiations continue and banks will remain closed into next week
CNB research finds exchange rate moves dampen shocks
Working paper finds exchange rate shocks are only minor contributors to the variance of output and inflation; says koruna-euro exchange rate is a shock absorber for the economy
BIS says fundamentals lagging behind market sentiment
Quarterly review identifies ‘renewed sense of optimism’ in financial markets; also sees move away from safe havens to riskier assets as central bank easing continues
RBNZ’s McDermott backs simple forecasts over fan charts
Reserve Bank of New Zealand assistant governor says a simple policy projection can provide clarity to overall ‘forecast story’ and the relationships between different macroeconomic variables
IMF report issues call to action on worsening Palestinian economy
Palestinian, Israeli and international authorities must move fast to tackle liquidity crisis, unsustainable public finances and political uncertainty in the West Bank and Gaza, staff report warns
Central banks ‘are not done easing yet’, says Morgan Stanley chief economist
US investment bank’s Joachim Fels says central banks are entering into a third stage of monetary easing; eurozone growth forecast cut to -0.7%
Pakistan bank governor calls for deeper shadow bank participation
Yaseen Anwar identifies 'huge opportunities' for shadow banking to capitalise on; says NBFIs must face stronger regulation in tandem
BIS researchers shine light into ‘dark’ FX markets
Working paper finds valuable information in foreign exchange order flows, giving large forex traders a significant competitive advantage
Fed’s Beige Book optimistic on labour market
Economic expansion still ‘modest or moderate’ in most Federal Reserve districts; labour market conditions improving but hiring is restrained
Colombian paper recommends using neural networks in yield curve forecasts
Neural networks, which process information in a similar manner to the human brain, are tested for their ability to improve yield curve forecasts in Latin America
ECB paper says government spending harms growth
Study analyses impact of government revenues and spending on long-term growth; finds income taxes and public investment can both have a negative impact
Bernanke evaluates long-term interest rates
Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke expects long-term interest rates to rise gradually; says upside and downside risks to rate level are 'roughly symmetric'
AfDB ‘information highway’ seeks to drive data sharing
African Development Bank-led initiative aims to 'revolutionise data management' across continent by the end of July
ECB's Cœuré hails 'European solidarity' smoothing the process of 'adjustment'
There are 'good reasons to be cautiously optimistic', says Cœuré, who blames 'rigidities' for exacerbating the pain of adjustment
Eurozone recession to last through 2013, say new EC forecasts
EU researchers revise 2013 GDP growth forecasts down from +0.1% to -0.3%; inflation to fall to 1.5% this year, putting pressure on ECB for further easing
King and Zhou prepare ground for renminbi-sterling swap line
Governors discuss establishment of a currency swap arrangement between UK and China, with a final agreement expected to be signed ‘shortly’
BoJ survey shows households expect tough times to continue
Households see economic conditions as worse than a quarter ago and likely to stay the same, although the majority thinks prices will rise in the coming years