ECB, BoJ and People’s Bank to loosen policy further

Three of the world’s most powerful central banks have loosened monetary policy in some form in the past few weeks and they all look likely to do more next year, particularly given the recent slump in oil prices. This may provide a modest boost to activity in the euro-zone and Japan, but the impact on China – and on the global economy – should be very small. Monetary easing may have significant implications for exchange rates, but talk of “currency wars” looks over-done.