Economics focus

摘要

Like most monopolies, central banking can be a highly lucrative business. America's Federal Reserve reported profits of over $23 billion in 2003. The Fed pays no interest on its liabilities, more than 90% of which are notes in circulation; meanwhile, it collects a tidy sum from its assets, principally safe, American government securities. For as long as people want to hold money in their pocket, not a lot can go wrong. Not all central banks are as fortunate. The European Central Bank made a loss in 2004, for the second year in a row. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has stuffed its balance sheet with Japanese government bonds that yield next to nothing. If the value of these were to fall sharply, the balance sheet would suffer.