Central Banking Series

Central Banking Series

Inflation: why prices look likely to stay high in the UK and Ireland, and what that means for mortgages

Jun 16, 2023 06:04 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its three key interest rates by 0.25% to their highest levels in more than 20 years. The ECBs main refinancing rate which dictates the cost of borrowing across much of Europe,...

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

A brief history of debt ceiling crises and the political chaos they've unleashed

May 14, 2023 05:10 am UTC| Economy

There have been numerous fiscal crises in the United States where Congress has either failed to pass a budget on time or there were doubts that the federal debt ceiling would be raised, which could cause the U.S. to...

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...