BoE Watch QE to be extended, but not yet The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to maintain its current course at its May policy meeting, leaving interest rates unchanged at 0.5% and voting to complete the £75bn programme of asset... 30th April 2009 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Is the ECB ready to take the plunge into QE? The ECB is almost certain to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 1% this month, where they should remain for some time. But after last month’s hints that further unconventional policies could be... 30th April 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB: Taylor rule points to much bigger stimulus needed The Financial Times recently reported that, according to internal analysis prepared for the Fed’s last policy meeting, the ‘ideal’ interest rate in the US should be minus 5%. The analysis was based on... 28th April 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Misplaced optimism in India India’s central bank seems remarkably sanguine about the economic outlook given that even the country’s more optimistic firms are struggling to raise funds for investment and the next government will... 21st April 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Sweden likely to join the unconventional club soon The Swedish Riksbank’s decision to commit to a prolonged period of low interest rates to help kick start the economy is clearly a step in the right direction, but this alone may not be enough. We... 21st April 2009 · 1 min read
Nordic & Swiss Economics Update Sweden likely to join the unconventional club soon The Swedish Riksbank’s decision to commit to a prolonged period of low interest rates to help kick start the economy is clearly a step in the right direction, but this alone may not be enough. We... 21st April 2009 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Pace of cuts eases, but rates still set to fall (Apr 09) We have argued for some time that the pace of monetary easing across the region would slow as concerns about financial stability weigh on policymakers’ minds. This seems to have been borne out by... 17th April 2009 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update MPC stays tight-lipped on QE With Mervyn King signalling already that interest rates were unlikely to fall again, this MPC meeting was all about the unconventional policy measures - so-called “quantitative easing” or QE -... 9th April 2009 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update Australian central bank cuts, but rates nearing bottom Australian interest rates were cut again today, but given the central bank’s wait-and-see stance and its relatively upbeat assessment of the outlook, they may not have much further to fall. We are... 7th April 2009 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan scrapes the bottom of the barrel The Bank of Japan further widened the range of eligible collateral in its money market operations after its Policy Board meeting today, although it is hard to avoid the feeling that it is now scraping... 7th April 2009 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Interest rates heading for record lows Emerging markets as a whole are likely to outperform the developed world by a wide margin over the next couple of years but Emerging Europe is still facing a twin speed recovery. While some economies... 2nd April 2009 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update ECB moving towards unconventional policies Although the ECB’s 25bp interest rate cut was smaller than expected, the decision appears to have reflected a desire to maintain the corridor between the official rate and deposit rates rather than a... 2nd April 2009 · 1 min read
BoE Watch No reason to alter the course of QE yet The programme of quantitative easing (QE) has certainly got off to a positive start, as evidenced by the sharp drop in bond yields. However, its wider impact on bank lending, economic activity and... 2nd April 2009 · 1 min read
ECB Watch Any hints of asset purchases? With the euro-zone recession still gathering pace, we see the ECB cutting interest rates by another 50 basis points to 1.0% this month. Indeed, it should not be long before rates reach 0.5%. But the... 26th March 2009 · 1 min read
