A useful tool to identify recessions in the euro area

This paper investigates the identification and dating of the European business cycle, using different methods. We concentrate on methods and statistical series that provide timely and accurate information about the contemporaneous state of the economy in order to provide the reader with a useful tool that allows him or her to analyze current business conditions and make predictions about the future state of the economy. In this spirit, we find that the European Commission industrial confidence indicator (ICI) is useful in providing that information.business cycle, confidence indicators, markov switching, turning points, recession, tool to identify recessions in the euro area, Bengoechea, P�rez Quir�s,

Euro money market interest rate dynamics and volatility: how they respond to recent changes in the operational framework

At the beginning of 2004, the Eurosystem implemented several modifications of its operational framework and liquidity management aiming at enhancing market efficiency. The purpose of this article is to study the effects of theses changes in the spread between the Eonia and the minimum bid rate. Our results reflect that both the operational changes as well as the new liquidity management are responsible for a significant decrease in the interest rate volatility. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.