Japan Dec Household Spending Dips Again; Q4 Rise Points To Solid GDP Growth
— Oct-Dec Household Spending +4.6% Q/Q; Q4 GDP Seen Up 1.4% Q/Q— Shrinking Demand for TVs, Food for Cooking Leads To Y/Y Drop in December— Spending on Dining Out, Traveling Up Y/Y But Ministry Keeps Close Watch By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s household spending suffered a slight drop from a year earlier in December […]
Italy Govt To Extend Loans Freeze, Boost State-Backed Guarantees – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s government is expected to extend a key pandemic loans payment moratorium which expired in December 2021, and boost state-backed guarantees for private investments, according to ruling coalition sources. The extension of both measures, set-up in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis to help struggling firms’ and families access […]
BOE Governor Andrew Bailey Takes Heavy Fire After Calling for Pay Restraint
— UK unions take aim after Thursday’s rate hike— MPC members Pill, Broadbent urge gradual tightening LONDON (MaceNews) – Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey suffered the brickbats of UK trade unions after suggesting that workers rein in demands for pay hikes even as inflation hovers at a three-decade high. “We do need to see […]
UK Chancellor Pledges Energy Support With UK Gov’t Under Further Pressure
— Two Top Downing Street Officials Resign; Northern Irish Executive Under Threat over Brexit LONDON (MaceNews) – UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a package of measures to reduce the sting of rising energy bills, marking a rare public appearance while the government struggles to counter allegations that civil servants held multiple parties […]
ECB Sounds More Hawkish Note But Leaves Policy Unchanged
— President Christine Lagarde Acknowledges that Inflation is More Likely to Overshoot Target (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank “will not be complacent” about record-high eurozone inflation, a more hawkish stance from ECB President and long-term dove Christine Lagarde Thursday. “Compared to December, inflation risks are tilted to the upside, particularly in the near term,” […]
KC Fed’s George: FOMC Needs to Move ‘Deliberately’ To Raise Federal Funds Rate
Funds Rate ‘Far Away’ From ‘Normal’ Monetary Policy ‘Out of Sync’ With Economic Outlook By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George said Monday that the Fed needs to move “deliberately” to withdraw the unprecedented monetary stimulus adopted to counter the Covid lockdown-induced recession. George, who is voting this […]
Analysis: Italy’s Government Weaker After Tricky Presidential Vote; 2023 Vote Outcome Uncertain – Sources
By Silvia Marchetti ROME (MaceNews) – The “forced” reappointment of Sergio Mattarella as Italy’s head of state despite his initial unavailability for a second term marks a further weakening of the government and its reformatory push as parties come to terms with their vulnerabilities, according to Italian party sources. “Party talks have failed in striking […]
Japan METI Unintentionally Posts +1.4% M/M Dec Retail Sales Hours Early
— METI Official: Data Embargoed on New Internal Computer System— METI Official: May Be Due To Human Error But Cannot Confirm Yet By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese retail sales rose modestly, posting the third straight year-on-year rise in December, when consumers appeared to have braved the early stage of the Omicron storm during the […]
FOMC Says Expects to ‘Soon Be Appropriate’ to Change Target Rate for Fed Funds
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement Wednesday of its policy stance, accompanied by a reaffirmation of its August 2020 statement that the Fed’s main tool remains changes in the federal funds rate while asset purchases diminish: Indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. The sectors most […]
Bank of Canada Keeps Record-Low Rate But Ends Forward Guidance on Easing
— BOC’s Macklem: Taking Deliberate Steps Toward Higher Interest Rates— BOC To Keep Govt Bonds on Its Balance Sheet Until It Starts Raising Rates— BOC Revises Up 2022 CPI Forecast To 4.2% From 3.4%; 2023 Unchanged at 2.3%— BOC Lowers 2022 GDP Forecast to 4.0% From 4.3%, 2023 To 3.5% Vs 3.7% By Max Sato […]