In exchanged letters between the BoE governor and the UK finance minister regarding asset purchase programme, there was a mention of the official intention to looming cutting of the maximum size of the Asset Purchasing Facility, APF.The maximum size of the APF authorized has been cut to GBP871 bln, of …
Read More »Lagarde signals ECB’s first Hike likely in July
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the first increase in interest rates in more than a decade may come in July, but meanwhile she downplayed the idea of a half-point move amongst accelerating concerns about economic expansion. Lagarde joins a number of ECB policymakers calling for a July hike …
Read More »Does Fed Know Where To Stop Hikes?
The US central bank is to notch up on Wednesday its efforts to withdraw the stimulus it showered on the US economy after the pandemic upended global economies two years ago. Fed officials are expected to raise the benchmark rate by a half percentage point and approve plans to start …
Read More »Fed’s Assets Retreat To Level Of 5 Weeks Ago
Total assets on the Fed’s weekly balance sheet as of April 20, released this afternoon, declined to $8.955 trillion, roughly the same as on March 16 and below the levels of March 23 and April 13. Beyond the week-to-week ups and downs, caused by the peculiarities of Mortgage Backed Securities …
Read More »FOMC Minutes: Most Policymakers Suggested Faster Interest Rate Hike
The minutes of the 25-26 January FOMC meeting, released on Wednesday, said that most participants suggested that a faster pace of increases in the target rate for the Federal Funds rate than in the post-2015 period would likely be warranted. Additional Quotes Participants continued to stress that maintaining flexibility to …
Read More »Kazimir Defends ECB Policy In Clash With Minister Over Prices
Some European Central Bank officials are coming under increasing heat from Eurozone governments as accelerating inflation stokes tension.Governing Council member Peter Kazimir of Slovakia defended the Frankfurt-based ECB on Wednesday against his country’s economy minister, Richard Sulik, who said asset purchases under the bank’s quantitative easing program were hurting consumers. …
Read More »World Central Banks Start Turning Off Cash Taps
Global Central Banks Start Turning Off Cash TapsAs speculation grows about when the US Federal Reserve will begin reducing the size of its balance sheet, some analysts say the era of “quantitative tightening” has already started and “quantitative easing” is over.Central bank balance sheets have ballooned since the pandemic struck …
Read More »Wheels Now Put In Motion By Fed for US Balance Sheet Reduction
Minutes from the Fed’s December meeting indicated that policymakers are ready to aggressively dial back policy stimulus.One key aspect, the US central bank’s balance sheet, was the subject of prolonged discussions, with policymakers pointing to a reduction in bond purchases during the coming months. Fed Members expressed concern about inflation …
Read More »Inflation, Stimulus Two Key Questions ECB Seeks To Answer
The two major questions that the European Central Bank will have to answer are: (1) Will inflation eventually settle at its target? and (2) Are asset purchases still useful?ECB policymakers are hoping that too-high inflation will prove transitory and eventually subside. Since the pandemic struck, the European Central Bank has …
Read More »FOMC effects taper starting mid-November
The U. S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it will start tapering its asset purchases program by $15 billion in mid-November.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that it left the benchmark interest rate, the target range for federal funds, unchanged at 0%-0.25% as widely expected. More importantly, the …
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