Latest news with #centralbanking


Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Summers, Bernanke Recall Fischer as Brilliant Economic Scholar
Stanley Fischer was remembered Sunday as a mentor to economic luminaries around the world. Fischer, who died Saturday at 81, was a central banker in the US and Israel. He served as vice chairman of the US Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 following eight years as governor of the Bank of Israel. That added to a resume that included time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spells at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and a stint as vice chairman of New York-based Citigroup Inc.


New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Stanley Fischer, Who Helped Defuse Financial Crises, Dies at 81
Stanley Fischer, an economist and central banker whose scholarship and genial, consensus-seeking style helped guide global economic policies and defuse financial crises for decades, died on Saturday at his home in Lexington, Mass. He was 81. The cause was complications of Alzheimer's disease, his son Michael said. Mr. Fischer served as the head of Israel's central bank from 2005 to 2013, as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 2014 to 2017 and as the No. 2 officer at the International Monetary Fund from 1994 to 2001, when that agency was struggling to contain financial panics in Mexico, Russia, Asia and Latin America. As a professor at M.I.T., he was a thesis adviser or mentor to an extraordinary range of future leaders, including Ben S. Bernanke, later chairman of the Fed; Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank; and Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan. His former students also included two people who chaired the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, Christina D. Romer and N. Gregory Mankiw, as well as Lawrence H. Summers, who served as secretary of the Treasury and president of Harvard University. 'He had a role in shaping a whole generation of economists and policymakers,' Mr. Bernanke said in a February 2024 interview for this obituary. That included spurring Mr. Bernanke's initial interest in macroeconomics and monetary policy. In 1998, The Times described Mr. Fischer as 'the closest thing the world economy has to a battlefield medic.' He helped negotiate a rescue package for Russia by cellphone while standing atop a sand dune on Martha's Vineyard, where he was on vacation. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
OBITUARY Stanley Fischer, former Fed vice chair and Bank of Israel chief, dies at 81
JERUSALEM, June 1 (Reuters) - Stanley Fischer, who helped shape modern economic theory during a career that included heading the Bank of Israel and serving as vice chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, has died at the age of 81. The Bank of Israel said he died on Saturday night but did not give a cause of death. Fischer was born in Zambia and had dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship. As an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fischer trained many of the people who went on to be top central bankers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank president. Fischer served as chief economist at the World Bank, and first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis and was then vice chairman at Citigroup from 2002 to 2005. During an eight-year stint as Israel's central bank chief from 2005-2013, Fischer helped the country weather the 2008 global financial crisis with minimal economic damage, elevating Israel's economy on the global stage, while creating a monetary policy committee to decide on interest rates like in other advanced economies. He was vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 and served as a director at Bank Hapoalim ( opens new tab in 2020 and 2021. Current Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron praised Fischer's contribution to the Bank of Israel and to advancing Israel's economy as "truly significant". The soft-spoken Fischer - who played a role in Israel's economic stabilisation plan in 1985 during a period of hyperinflation - was chosen by then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as central bank chief. Netanyahu, now prime minister, called Fischer a "great Zionist" for leaving the United States and moving to Israel to take on the top job at Israel's central bank. "He was an outstanding economist. In the framework of his role as governor, he greatly contributed to the Israeli economy, especially to the return of stability during the global economic crisis," Netanyahu said, adding that Stanley - as he was known in Israel - proudly represented Israel and its economy worldwide. Israeli President Isaac Herzog also paid tribute. "He played a huge role in strengthening Israel's economy, its remarkable resilience, and its strong reputation around the world," Herzog said. "He was a world-class professional, a man of integrity, with a heart of gold. A true lover of peace."


Bloomberg
09-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fed's Williams Says Crucial to Anchor Inflation Expectations
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said keeping inflation expectations anchored near policymakers' target forms the 'bedrock' of central banking. A 'critical lesson' for central bankers is 'the importance of maintaining well-anchored inflation expectations, especially when uncertainty is very high,' Williams said in the text of remarks he's scheduled to deliver at a conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.