FED’S POWELL: TO TAKE A LONG TIME TO RAISE INFL RATE
–Virus Resurgence to Hit First-Quarter Economy By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell Wednesday said reaching the inflation target is going to take “some time” in an environment of disinflation around the world, when price pressure in any sector is no longer persistent. In the near term, however, he warned the […]
FOMC: RATES NEAR ZERO THRU 2023
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee, as expected, stood still in its latest policy statement Wednesday, accompanied by quarterly projections that saw the federal funds rate at 0.1% through 2023. The following is the text of the FOMC statement: The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support […]
STATUS CHECK COMMENTARY: A SPECIAL DAY, A SPECIAL VACCINE
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Monday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes. A special day, certainly. The first vaccinations, the Electoral College certification of the Biden win, Geraldo Rivera on Fox News saying, “It’s over.” And a few Senate Republicans, certainly not all, finally late […]
JAPAN: BOJ DEC TANKAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE JUMPS BUT BIG FIRMS REVISE DOWN CAPEX PLANS
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese firms nearly across the board reported their sentiment improved substantially in December from three months earlier, thanks to Chinese and U.S. economic recovery as well as a gradual pickup in domestic demand, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey released Monday. But the survey also showed […]
DATA PREVIEW: RETAIL SALES, HOUSING STARTS, FED MEETING
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The November retail sales report from the Census Bureau is the highlight among the upcoming week’s economic data with housing starts along for the ride, readings in two industries doing better than expected during the pandemic. Retail sales through October were up 5.7% from a year earlier according to […]
PREVIEW: FOMC TO REAFFIRM EASY MONEY POLICY; EXTEND FORWARD GUIDANCE TO BOND BUYING
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – For the Federal Reserve these days, it’s all about shaping and managing expectations – expectations for indefinite continuation of ultra-accommodative monetary policy. That effort will continue at the Fed’s Dec. 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The FOMC heads toward its final meeting of 2020 amid very unusual circumstances […]
ECB EXPANDS EMERGENCY QE, LENDING PROGRAMMES; LEAVES RATES ON HOLD
–Inflation Forecast Reduced for 2020; HICP Not Expected to Reach Target Before 2024 By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank Thursday expanded its emergency asset purchase and lending programmes at its latest policy meeting but left its key rates unchanged, raising questions about whether European borrowing costs have reached its so-called “reversal […]
NABE SURVEY FINDS MIXED SIGNALS ON VIRUS EFFECT BUT A BETTER 2021
–For 2021 ‘A Dramatic Improvement From the October Survey’ WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Members of the National Association for Business Economics Monday were of at least two minds about several pandemic related metrics, on the one hand taking a somewhat optimistic view that despite the virus surge, growth would only moderate, not tank in the near […]
STATUS CHECK: RUMOR CHECK – 2020 WILL END AT SOME POINT
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Friday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes. Wait, this just in. The Brexit talks have fallen apart. You don’t look surprised. Or even interested. Someday a headline will flash. Brexit Talks Fall Together. Time is running out, after all. The […]
NOTED BOE DOVE ADOPTS MORE CAUTIOUS TONE ON NEGATIVE RATES
By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – One of the more dovish Bank of England rate setters has adopted more cautious view toward sub-zero interest rates in the UK, stressing that the development of a Covid vaccine could herald a more-rapid-than-expected return to normal financing conditions. Silvana Tenreyro, an external member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy […]