Global Economics Update Does Zimbabwe provide any lessons for QE? It is tempting to argue that the quantitative easing (QE) now being adopted in the US and the UK, among others, differs only in degree from the reckless printing of money that contributed to the hyper... 17th February 2009 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Bank of Canada cut rates to record low The Bank of Canada cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points today, to a record low of only 1.0, and left the door open to further reductions in the coming months. The close financial and trade links... 20th January 2009 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update What would be the implications of an Ecuadorian default? 9th December 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Global fiscal stimulus still falling short Governments across the world have announced tax cuts and spending increases in an attempt to prevent global recession from turning into a prolonged depression. However, the measures still fall well... 28th November 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update How low can interest rates go? There may be some practical reasons why the floor for official interest rates should be set slightly higher than zero - perhaps 0.25% or 0.5%. But the long period of zero interest rates in Japan... 20th November 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update G20 short on specifics but long on good intentions 16th November 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update How much should we worry about deflation? It is increasingly likely that headline inflation will turn negative in many major economies at some point in the coming year. But whether this would be a bad thing or a good thing depends largely on... 3rd November 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Global interest rates have much further to fall Today’s coordinated half-point rate cuts from all the major central banks (except Japan, where rates were already just 0.5%) are clearly welcome and may provide a temporary boost to confidence. But we... 8th October 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Some better news on food prices Lower oil prices have provided a little support to equity markets in the last few days, but it is worth noting that agricultural commodities have been dropping back too. The scene is being set for... 18th July 2008 · 1 min read
