BANK OF ENGLAND SLOWS ASSET PURCHASES AS CONSUMER SPENDING PICKS UP

— Base Rate Remains at Record-Low 0.1% By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The Bank of England will decrease the pace of its emergency quantitative easing program, noting that the UK has not suffered as much as feared during the economic shutdown implemented in late March. “Recent payments ant other high frequency data suggested that […]

DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS SLOW FURTHER; MAY PPI ABOVE EXPECTED

–Initial Claims -355,000 to 1.542 Mln; 40.4 Mln Unadj Total Under COVID–May PPI Up 0.4%, But Down 0.1% Ex Food and Energy; Gasoline +43.9%. By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. jobless claims data released earlier Thursday pointed to continued improvement for both new filings and existing filings, but the levels of both remain extremely […]

FED’S POWELL: DOING ALL WE CAN; WILL IT BE ENOUGH?

–‘Dot Plot’ Shows Assumptions of No Rate Hikes Through 2022 –To Sustain Pace of Treasuries, MBS Purchases By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell Wednesday offered reassurance policymakers are not even “thinking about thinking” about raising rates and shared his worries about possible long-term post-crisis unemployment. Answering questions after the Federal […]

FOMC POLICY STATEMENT JUNE 10, 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. The virus and the measures taken to […]

DATA FLASH: US MAY CPI FALLS 0.1% BEFORE JUNE DEMAND PICKUP

–Core Prices Also Down 0.1%; Ex. Only Energy, CPI Up 0.1%.–Energy Prices Again Down Sharply; Foods Prices Rise on Food at Home–Owners’ Equivalent Rents Up 0.3%, Lodging Away from Home Down 1.5% By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – U.S. consumer prices were below the flat reading expected, as energy prices declined further, but demand is […]

ECB EXPANDS BOND BUYING PROGRAM, DECLINES FURTHER EASING MEASURES

By Laurie Laird LONDON (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank expanded its emergency asset purchase program but declined to activate any further measures in what it calls its “policy toolkit,” despite forecasting a fall in inflation to just above zero. The ECB’s pandemic emergency purchase program, or PEPP, will increase by €600 billion to €1.35 […]

BANK OF CANADA TAKING RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH DURING ‘UNKNOWABLE TIMES’

NEW YORK (MaceNews) – The Bank of Canada continues to pursue a risk management approach to policy-making as it faces multiple challenges and uncertainties stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, retiring Governor Stephen Poloz said Monday. The risk management approach to implementing the bank’s inflation mandate means the bank considers multiple economic models and incorporates soft […]

BANK OF CANADA’S LANE SEES ECONOMY, INFLATION DEPRESSED POST-COVID

NEW YORK (MaceNews) – Canada’s economy is likely to emerge from the Covid-19 shutdown period with weaker supply and demand, and lower inflation, due to shutdown “scarring,” Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Tim Lane said Wednesday. “While the steps we have taken should help, we are likely to emerge from the shutdown with both demand […]

DATA FLASH: US INITIAL CLAIMS DIP; 36.5 MLN SINCE MID-MARCH

–Initial Claims Fall 195,000 to 2.981 Mln; Signs Backlogs Winding Down–Import Prices Fall 2.6% in April; Still Down 0.5% Excluding Fuels By Kevin Kastner WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The rate of initial claims growth slowed further in the May 9 week as backlogs are worked down, but there is no indication that the number of people […]