financial markets
Reports on financial markets See all →
The political corruption of monetary policy
The 2008 U.S. housing crash and the European debt crisis led many politicians to question the importance of independent central banks. However, this approach is not without consequences. There are now several patterns of influence on central banks, ranging from direct political meddling to more subtle institutional pressure. Left unchecked, excessive and ineffective monetary policy will progressively
corrupt central bank independence.
Which Fed monetary policy ‘normalization?’
Should policies centered on more broadly defined money supply replace central bankers’ traditional preoccupation with interest and inflation rates? Is there a way to tame overregulation in the financial sector while making it more stable, more durable and more squarely based on entrepreneurial responsibility? Such changes may be possible – ...
Equity markets and the global economy
Company earnings are a traditional gauge of economic health and a powerful driver of financial markets. Recently, however, they have been sending contradictory signals. One reason could be the expansionary credit policies of the past decade, which have distorted balance sheets and weakened competition. The most likely outcome of this ...
2019 Global Outlook: Another year near zero
It has been a decade since global interest rates reached the zero lower bound, where monetary policymakers lose their ability to stimulate the economy using conventional policy tools. Among the largest global central banks, only the United States Federal Reserve has set its benchmark above 2 percent. Will this anomaly ...
2019 Global Outlook: The economy we left behind
2018 was not a bad year for the world economy, and 2019 should be only a little worse. Consistent with our forecasts, last year brought no disasters: no recession in the West, no major slump in China, no public finance crisis in Europe or global trade wars. Instead, there was ...
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