5 February 2023 After a bruising 2022, global financial markets now have fully embraced the propect of a "soft landing" for the global economy. Even the IMF has revised up its 2023 GDP growth forecast following China's post-Covid opening, declining European natural gas prices, and signs that world-wide inflation may have peaked. In the United [...]
7 March 2021 We have all marvelled at the dramatic expansion of the US Federal Reserve's balance sheet following both the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the Covid pandemic. And, the Chart illustrates quantitative easing (QE) policies have had a similar impact on the asset holdings of central banks worldwide (thanks to Yardeni Research for [...]
16 March 2020 Global central banks have announced additional emergency stimulus measures. In particular, the US Federal Reserve reduced its policy rate by 100 basis point, which now stands near zero. In addition, the Fed will resume aggressively its quantitative easing program. During the Global Financial Crisis global markets were reassured by such assertive policy [...]
29 September 2019 The European economy has been decelerating since 2017. Indeed, the meagre 0.2% gain in GDP during Q2 2019 suggests economic activity may be stalling. And, as Germany, Italy, and the UK all recorded negative growth rates during the interval (and with Q3 looking decidedly weak as well), financial markets are increasingly concerned [...]