Australia
Paper uses Okun’s Law to assess Australian potential output
Discussion paper published by Reserve Bank of Australia estimates potential output growth has fallen from around 5% in the 1970s to 2.9% now
Enforcement of global FX code of conduct still a work in progress, Debelle says
Reserve Bank of Australia’s Debelle notes the FX market is regulated differently from one jurisdiction to another when asked about enforcement of the planned global code
Stevens calls for end to obsession with central forecasts
RBA governor emphasises the uncertainty around forecasting; says he considered abolishing the central line in fan charts
RBA’s Debelle outlines potential benchmark rate reform
Australian consultation paper suggests modifications to the calculation of the bank bill swap rate, with one option expanding the set of transactions covered
RBA’s Kent sees positive side to Chinese readjustment
China’s economic rebalancing is likely to bring benefits to Australia’s economy as well as costs, Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor says
Australian property market must be watched by regulators, assistant governor says
Residential and commercial property prices are rising rapidly in Sydney and Melbourne, Australian assistant governor says; evidence of some ‘slipping in lending standards’
RBA deputy disappointed by data inaccuracies
Philip Lowe discusses two problems that have emerged in reporting of loans in housing market, stressing value of high-quality data
Rising mortgage rates do not demand policy response, says RBA’s Stevens
Recent increases in mortgage rates have reversed some of the central bank’s easing, but there is no need to lean against the movement at present, governor says
People: Finland names new head of statistics; RBI appoints executive director
Bank of Finland promotes head of macro-prudential analysis division to head of financial stability and statistics department; RBI gets new executive director; and more
RBA sees no ‘financial stability case’ for repo CCP
Central bank decides not to actively encourage the (re)creation of a repo-focused central counterparty, but says it will work with the industry if it wants to take the project further
RBA reduces share of euro in reserves
Australian central bank cuts euro holdings by 10% while nearly doubling RMB share of reserve portfolio; running yield ‘very low' at 0.2% at end-June, annual report says
RBA’s Edey explains cross-border treatment of CCPs
Australia will not insist on domestic incorporation for overseas CCPs; regulators favour a ‘graduated framework’ for imposing additional requirements on the most important CCPs if necessary
RBA’s Richards gauges sentiment on card payments regulation
Head of payments policy highlights areas of ‘common ground’ in response to issues paper on card payments regulation, but also some ‘real differences’ between stakeholders
RBA’s John Simon says low rate a ‘poor predictor’ of crises
Low interest rates of themselves did not cause the global financial crisis and have always been a poor predictor of economic instability, senior Reserve Bank of Australia economist argues
People: FCA names COO; RBA shuffles assistant governors
Financial Conduct Authority announces Georgina Philippou as COO; Michele Bullock named assistant governor for business services in Australia; and more
RBA board holds off judging impact of volatility on trading partners
The board assessed the troubles in China and market volatility to have ‘increased the downside risks’ to the global outlook at its meeting this month, minutes show
RBA deputy welcomes ‘considerable’ exchange rate adjustment
Philip Lowe says flexibility of the exchange rate, labour market and monetary policy have helped Australian economy adjust to ‘downswing’ in commodity prices and mining investment
RBA’s Ellis sees gaps in understanding of credit and property price relationship
The Australian central bank's head of financial stability discusses what economists do and don’t know about the property market, highlighting areas that need more work
Research questions whether Asia development has permanent effect on long-run price of commodities
RBA paper reveals that developments in Asia has had a significant effect on the level of commodity prices, but the increase was smaller than first thought
RBA economist proposes ‘survival model’ of banknote life
The research discussion paper outlines an alternative method of predicting how long banknotes will last, finding the ‘survival model’ produces less volatile estimates
Australian SWF heads see returns dipping as central banks normalise policy
The chair of the Australian Government Future Fund says easy monetary policy ‘cannot be sustained indefinitely’ and returns are likely to drop in coming years
Inflation targeting should be improved, not replaced, RBA paper says
Rather than a ‘fundamental re-engineering’ of inflation targeting, central banks should adopt a flexible approach that pays some heed to output, authors argue
RBA paper finds distribution matters when assessing impact of wealth effects
Example of car buying highlights how different households adjust consumption in response to housing wealth effects, although channels remain unclear
RBA report reveals changing pattern of card use
Australians are increasingly favouring debit over credit cards for payments but both have been increasing in volume and value