Central Banking Series

Why the Federal Reserve's epic fight against inflation might be over

Jun 15, 2023 05:25 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

The Federal Reserves decision to hold rates steady signals that central bankers believe it is time to hit pause, at least temporarily, on their aggressive campaign to tame runaway inflation. The latest data, not to...

Central Banking Series

War rooms and bailouts: How banks and the Fed are preparing for a US default – and the chaos expected to follow

May 17, 2023 07:49 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

Convening war rooms, planning speedy bailouts and raising house-on-fire alarm bells: Those are a few of the ways the biggest banks and financial regulators are preparing for a potential default on U.S. debt. You hope it...

Central Banking Series

Why the Bank of England is now more upbeat than the IMF

May 16, 2023 13:16 pm UTC| Economy Central Banks

The Bank of England has changed its mind about the prospects for the UK economy. Having been predicting a recession in 2023 as recently as February, its latest May report is expecting a soft landing from the bout of high...

Central Banking Series

Bank of England interest rate rise: why this could be the last increase for a while

May 11, 2023 14:45 pm UTC| Economy Central Banks

The Bank of England has increased its benchmark interest rate to 4.5% the seventh rise since May 2022, when the base rate was just 1%. It is now at the highest level since 2008. The European Central Bank (ECB) also...

Central Banking Series

The Federal Reserve and the art of navigating a soft landing ... when economic data sends mixed signals

May 01, 2023 12:43 pm UTC| Economy Central Banks

With inflation easing and the U.S. economy cooling, is the Federal Reserve done raising interest rates? After all, gently bringing down the trajectory of prices without crashing the economy was the central banks objective...

Central Banking Series

Reserve Bank revolution: How Jim Chalmers will re-craft the RBA for the 21st century

Apr 23, 2023 12:39 pm UTC| Central Banks Economy

The review into the Reserve Bank of Australia has just been published by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the results are a blockbuster. The review has made 51 recommendations including: taking away power over...

Treasurer Chalmers has a $70 billion a year budget hole: we've found 13 ways to fill it

Apr 12, 2023 03:23 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

No one likes spending cuts and tax hikes, but on our estimate the government will soon need more of them if they are going to make a dent in looming A$70 billion a year budget deficits. A new Grattan Institute report,...