BOE DEFENDS FORECASTS AS AGENTS QUERY OPTIMISTIC ASSUMPTIONS

By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – Top Bank of England officials Friday reiterated the downside risks to forecasts of a smart economic rebound under questioning from the BoE’s regional representatives about the Bank’s baseline forecasting assumptions.  The central forecast released Thursday “is sensible,” albeit with “very substantial” downside risk, said Governor Andrew Bailey, addressing a […]

BOE HOLDS POLICY, KEEPS SUB-ZERO RATES UNDER REVIEW DESPITE CONSUMER RECOVERY

— Bank predicts 18% gain in Q3 GDP By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The Bank of England maintained its current policy stance at its latest rate setting meeting, but admitted that negative interest rates remain under review, despite forecasting a sharp economic rebound in the third quarter. Bank forecasters predict an 18% surge in […]

STATUS CHECK: THE IN-BETWEEN WORLD OF SLOWDOWN-REBOUND

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Wednesday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes: ·       Another day in that indeterminate area between slowdown and rebound, between the alternate universes with President Trump in his evening briefing in his world, the one in which the virus is being controlled, […]

STATUS CHECK: MUDDLED, MURKY – STILL WEEKEND VIRUS RELIEF SUCCESS EXPECTED

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Tuesday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes: ·       The general public, the markets, social service providers, food pantries and shelter providers were left reading between the lines Tuesday as they tried to decode the scant signals being sprinkled like bread crumbs […]

CHI FED’S EVANS: FED CAN’T MAKE WORKPLACES SAFE

–Economic Activity Seems to be Leveling Off By Suzanne Cosgrove CHICAGO (Mace News) — Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, hosting a virtual roundtable for news media Monday, said that while the second-quarter gross domestic product was the worst on record, declining at an annualized rate of 32.9 percent, with about 18 million unemployed workers, […]

STATUS CHECK: NO HAPPY TALK FROM POWELL; VIRUS STATS GRIM

WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Wednesday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes: The VIX mood ring turned a more mellow shade Wednesday, improving a notable 5.27% to settle at 24.10 by day’s end. U.S stocks finished the day’s session +0.61% or 160.29 points, and in […]

FED’S POWELL: PROBABLE ‘LONG TAIL’ OF THOSE SLOW TO GET JOBS BACK

By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell, following a hold-in-place policy meeting, Wednesday stayed away from any happy talk about progress against the virus and unemployment, saying it will be quite a while before low jobless rates return. Referring to the “tail” outside the bulk of the reemployment distribution curve, Powell […]

TEXT OF FOMC POLICY STATEMENT JULY 29, 2020

The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The coronavirus outbreak is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. Following sharp declines, economic activity and employment […]