Qantas, Fiji airline row going nowhere. ++ Qantas, Fiji airline row going nowhere. Virgin queries Qantas claims. + No deal in divided Europe. Monetary policy: Trickle-down central banking. + RBA’s Glenn Stevens switches to plan ‘B’ Michael Woodford Endorses NGDP Targeting. Why Stevens is the best RBA governor. Christopher Joye A former RBA official once said to me, “I’ve tried to explain to traders that there is a key difference between them and us.
Whereas they are forced to make judgments, and punt on what they expect us to do, we have the luxury of time. We are only compelled to make choices 11 times a year.“ This is an essential truth that traders overlook. For example, the SFE’s 30-day interbank futures contract for November currently implies a 100 per cent probability of a cut. Wrong Way Says RBA. RBA's Stevens to see out term amid UK role talk. Glenn Stevens Photo: Louise Kennerley RESERVE Bank Governor Glenn Stevens is expected to serve out his full term - due to end in September 2013 - despite reports in Britain that the Australian central bank boss has been approached to take the top job at the Bank of England.
One of the world's top central bankers, Mr Stevens was reportedly among the contenders to become the next governor of the Bank of England to replace Mervyn King, London's Sunday Times reported, citing unidentified sources. However, it is believed that Mr Stevens has not been approached by any officials from Britain, despite the news report saying informal discussions had taken place.
Mr Stevens has been at his current post since September 2006 and is believed to be planning to serve out his full seven-year term to September 17 next year. Advertisement A Reserve Bank spokesman declined to comment on the news report, or on Mr Stevens' tenure. Two Jackson Hole papers: Woodford and Haldane. How does forward guidance about the Federal Reserve's target for the federal funds rate support the economic recovery?
Clear communication is always important in central banking, and is especially important in the present circumstances when the economy requires further policy stimulus but the traditional tool of monetary policy, the target for the federal funds rate, is already effectively as low as it can go.
(Since December 2008, the Federal Reserve's target for the federal funds rate has been between 0 and 1/4 percent.) Through "forward guidance," the Federal Open Market Committee provides an indication to households, businesses, and investors about the stance of monetary policy expected to prevail in the future. By providing information about how long the Committee expects to keep the target for the federal funds rate exceptionally low, the forward guidance language can put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and thereby lower the cost of credit for households and businesses, and also help improve broader financial conditions. Related Information Related Questions. Banks play a rate cut option. Libor changes may affect contracts. Why social media can’t be ignored.
After 2GB pulled all advertising from Alan Jones’ show following the online backlash to his offensive comments about Julia Gillard’s late father, corporate Australia is being forced to take the reputational risks that social media poses more seriously than ever.
Dominic White. Time PM stopped playing the gender card: Abbott. Julia Gillard's 'misogyny' speech in full In this fiery speech that has been reported around the world , Julia Gillard accuses Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of sexism and misogyny. 10, 2012 Day of shame: Slipper resigns.
Gillard reveals true nature in playing gender card. Julia Gillard's 'misogyny' speech in full In this fiery speech that has been reported around the world , Julia Gillard accuses Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of sexism and misogyny. 10, 2012 The dictionary defines misogyny as "hatred of women".
It is an ugly word, an ugly accusation and an ugly fact of life. Collaboration key, says PM&C secretary. Outrage is the new democracy. “Going viral” on the internet is a phrase that is capable of striking terror in the hearts of media managers and marketing executives if their clients become a target of such a campaign.
Photo: AFP Tony Walker. Jones has fewer options in shock-jock economy. Alan Jones’ private finances have been a hidden skein running beneath the public controversy that has engulfed 2GB and Macquarie for the past two weeks since his reference at a Liberal Party function to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s father “dying of shame”. Photo: Mariana Neal Neil Chenoweth. ++ Australia Post rides on e-tailing boom. + Australia Post's digital delivery scheme may yield few returns to spender. Australia Post have every reason to be pleased with their role in the online shopping revolution.
They are central to the process by providing a means of converting the virtual into the real, by delivering online shoppers’ purchases to their doorstep or mail locker. This has resulted in Australia Post “posting” a $281 million profit for 2011/2012. Housing 2012_1005. + As the mining boom ends, the housing boom begins - The Drum. Posted Thu 4 Oct 2012, 7:30am AEST The RBA could find itself with a housing bubble just as Australia's resources boom starts to fade in earnest, writes Michael Janda.
Amid the now regular commentary on fragile international financial conditions, and some genuine concerns about slow credit growth and the state of the domestic employment market, two things stood out in the the Reserve Bank (RBA) governor's post-meeting statement yesterday. The first, and most widely discussed by the financial press and commentators, is Glenn Stevens' fresh assessment of the mining boom, or end thereof. "The peak in resource investment is likely to occur next year, and may be at a lower level than earlier expected," he cautioned. The RBA had already pulled back its expectations of the mining investment peak to sometime next financial year (July 2013-end of June 2014) as recently as August. RBA on guard for bubble in home prices. “In the face of this uncertainty, it is essential that the labour market retains its flexibility,” RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe said.
Photo: Michael O’Sullivan Jacob Greber Economics correspondent. It's official, the boom is not over. Illustration: Kerrie Leishman Have you noticed how joyfully the media trumpet the bad news they seek out so assiduously? The latest is that the resources boom is finally busting. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Treasury chief bullish on boom. Secretary of the Treasury Dr Martin Parkinson. + Housing poised recovery CHART. Housing market poised for recovery.
+ US moves into the driver’s seat. Stocks at 52-week high prompt call for caution. Saving the euro after the China shock. Waiting for a Chinese miracle. Munich Re sees a lot of room in Asia. Germans growing uneasy about euro. Greek bank super deal. Aris Messinis/AFP Greece's banking sector is bracing for what local media called a super deal, following the announcement of the National Bank's offer to purchase the third-largest lender Eurobank. Late on Friday, the National Bank of Greece (NBG), the country's top lender, announced a voluntary offer for "all outstanding common registered shares" of Eurobank. If an agreement is reached, "current NBG and Eurobank shareholders will be represented by 75 percent and 25 percent respectively," according to the statement, with NBG offering "58 new shares for each 100 shares of Eurobank. " The group will become the country's new top lender, with combined assets of nearly 177.7 billion euros ($231.7 billion), approximately 104 billion from the NBG and 73.6 billion from Eurobank.
It will be followed by Alpha Bank in second place and Piraeus Bank in third. SCOREBOARD: USA on the way. IMF warns of instability. + BoQ CommSec. Put brakes on super-fast trades: UBS. UBS co-head of equities, Gary Head, said protecting the integrity of the market was paramount. Photo: Sasha Woolley Stephen Shore and George Liondis One of Australia’s biggest investment banks has called for strict new high-frequency trading rules, including fees for some computerised orders, in a bid to make predatory trading unprofitable. UBS says HFT remains an important part of modern markets but it will lobby the corporate regulator to make traders abide by new rules or pay a fee for every “message” or order they put out to the market. It is the first time a major investment bank has come up with a potential solution for regulating HFT and comes as brokers prepare submissions to an Australian Securities and Investments Commission consultation paper on automated trading.
Brokers are increasingly crossing client orders off-market in so-called “dark pools” to avoid contact with HFT. UBS, like most major investment banks in Australia, is involved in HFT. ASIC fights rogue algorithms. UBS trade plan finds accord. BoQ searching for sunshine. Borrowers ‘waiting for more rate cuts’ + Islamic bonds on offer to Australian investors. + Banks hail BHP’s $1bn bond deal. ++ MINING MARGINAL PRICE Rio proclaims market victory. + Steadfast on track for IPO. Time right for a QBE confession session. 'Getting information is like pulling teeth. Understanding QBE is a Sisyphean task. This is the most impenetrable of black boxes.' Photo: Louie Douvis NOT one big cyclone, earthquake or flood.
Nary one major catastrophe marred QBE's latest result, only four minor "events" costing a mere $103 million. Despite this dearth of big claims though, the global insurance group did have a "Category Five" hissy fit. In late February, QBE sooled its lawyers and crisis management experts onto BusinessDay for having the cheek to state a fact, that is that the company had "pledged" its Australian assets. As it turned out, QBE and its indignant solicitors from Ashurst conceded a few weeks later after much prompting that, yes, all right there had been some pledging of Australian assets. Advertisement Pledging means passing control of an asset to somebody else, usually in return for cash. Big earners get more tax-free food. Westpac snares CBA executive. Buck stops rising but perks flow fast.