US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said central banks around the world would probably unwind monetary expansion at different times because of differences in their economies.
“In the medium term, like the Federal Reserve and many other central banks, the Bank of Korea will have to manage its exit from accommodative policies,” Bernanke said in pre-recorded remarks to a conference hosted by South Korea’s central bank in Seoul yesterday.
The Bank of Korea “will have to weigh the risks of a premature exit against those of leaving expansionary policies in place for too long,” Bernanke said.
The Fed chief didn’t elaborate on the outlook for the US economy or monetary policy.
Bernanke praised South Korea’s response to the global financial crisis over the last few years, including its decisions to reduce its policy interest rate by 3.25 percentage points and to set up a fund to keep its banking system stable.
“This suite of policy responses helped stabilize Korean financial markets and promote a swift recovery of economic activity,” Bernanke told the Bank of Korea event, according to a text distributed by the Fed in Washington.
South Korea’s stock market has erased much of its losses since late 2008, and GDP has “rebounded decisively” since contracting at a 17 percent pace in the fourth quarter of 2008, he said.
In the US, the Fed cut its benchmark rate to near zero in December 2008 and purchased US$1.7 trillion in US Treasuries and housing debt to revive growth. Officials are debating when and how fast to raise rates and sell mortgage assets.
“Because economic conditions vary, the appropriate timing of the exit is likely to differ across countries,” Bernanke said.
Countries must cooperate to improve financial regulation and ensure that firms are “well capitalized, liquid and transparent,” Bernanke said.
The leadership of the G20 is “essential” for producing effective and consistent changes, he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
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Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique