- Monday, 29 January 2018
- News
ECB's Praet Urges Stimulus Persistence With Inflation Goal Unmet
European Central Bank chief economist Peter Praet pushed back against the idea that the institution is close to deciding to end its bond-buying program, saying there’s still a way to go before inflation is back on track. Praet said the ECB is “some distance” from meeting the three criteria that would show asset purchases have done their job. His comments come amid differences within the Governing Council over how fast to move toward the end of crisis-era stimulus, with Dutch central banker Klaas Knot saying on Sunday that the program has done all that can realistically be expected and should end as soon as possible after September.
Read more...
- Thursday, 14 December 2017
- News
Bank of England: disorderly Brexit risk reduced by EU talks progress
Last week’s breakthrough in Brexit talks has reduced the risk of a disorderly British departure from the European Union and may boost economic confidence, the Bank of England said on Thursday after it left interest rates unchanged. BoE policymakers voted unanimously to keep rates at 0.5 percent, as expected, a month after raising them for the first time in more than a decade as inflation approached its highest level in nearly six years. Prime Minister Theresa May secured agreement from the European Commission last week that Britain had made sufficient progress in preliminary talks to move on to negotiating a transition agreement and a longer-term trade deal.
Read more...
- Monday, 11 September 2017
- News
ECB has seen very little price pressure in recovery – Mersch
The European Central Bank has seen very little pressure on inflation despite an economic recovery and policymakers will discuss this autumn whether to curb stimulus, ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said on Monday. Mersch, considered a policy hawk, told Luxembourg radio station 100.7 in an interview that there were a number of reasons inflation was not rising, principal among them the relative lack of wage pressure.
Read more...
- Thursday, 22 June 2017
- News
U.K. economy could come under pressure
After holding up impressively well in the immediate aftermath of the June 2016 Brexit referendum, the U.K. economy is coming under pressure. Economic growth has slowed notably, wages are stagnating and inflation has marched up toward 3 percent, the highest among the major advanced economies. With this combination in play, it is just a matter of time until the (up-to-now solid) “soft” indicators, including business and household confidence, come under pressure.
Read more...