Financial stability, regulatory coordination, financial reforms
So far, in India, regulatory coordination was based on the HLCC. This has not been a particularly good experience. The HLCC was not statutory and there was no defined mechanism through which decisions would be obtained. Many inter-regulatory difficulties simply languished. One peculiar aspect of the HLCC was that it [...]

Two interesting quotes caught my eye in a recent Andy Smith note:
“We cannot stop terrorism or defeat the ideologies of violent extremism when hundreds of millions of young people see a future with no jobs, no hope, and no way ever to catch up to the developed world” Hillary Clinton, Remarks to the Center for [...]

The excellent research edifice at the Bank of International Settlements have conjured up one of those papers which needed to be written (by Claudio Borio and Piti Disyatat) on the back of the myriad of different monetary policy responses we have observed in the contex of the economic crisis. The abstract and conclusion look as [...]

The recent gold bull upleg is in the midst of a predictable slight correction and consolidation.  When that finishes it is highly probable, based on seasonality and technicals, that the next part of the upleg will commence.  The Federal Reserve and Washington are only making matters worse through their extremely damaging policies.

GOLD PARTY BARELY STARTED
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Sorry for the hiatus, but I am preparing a large note on the ECB, whether it is conducting QE or not, what QE at the ECB is, and finally what the prospects of an exit strategy is. This has taken most of my time the last week. I will be posting this report shortly. Meanwhile, [...]

Yesterday I was dismissive of the recall of Hong Kong’s gold as significant, but it is another bit of evidence of a shift in central bank attitudes towards gold. Far more significant indicators include (see this MineWeb article):
* China’s announcement that it had moved 454 tonnes of gold into its reserves since 2003
* Central Bank [...]

The Bank of Israel has become the first central bank worldwide to raise interest rates.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an elongated blog post titled Does unconventional monetary policy and unusual fiscal policy presage an upsurge in inflation?. This was partly motivated by the [...]

Politicians have jumped on board the stimulus bandwagon. It would be nice if they would think for a change.

While correlation isn’t causation, and tall buildings certainly don’t cause economic downturns, the Skyscraper Index is quite interesting and can help to shed some light on the workings of business cycles.

On the surface it seems simple enough. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve adjusts interest rates to manage both inflation and the economy. When inflation rises, the FOMC raises rates, which limits the money supply, raises the cost of credit and slows economic expansion to a manageable level. When inflation falls, [...]