monetary policy

Within the next few months the Obama administration is expected to announce a nominee for Ben Bernanke's replacement. Two names have been bounced around recently: Janet Yellen and Larry Summers. According to Google Trends, here is what…

The Fed will be stuck at zero for a very long time, perhaps forever. Investors who are anticipating the Fed's tightening are premature in their assessment of when rate hikes can reasonably occur. Ben Bernanke and other Fed members have made…

The following are today's prepared remarks of the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the US Congress by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. While the totality of Chairman Bernanke's remarks are not new, we have underlined and…

The Federal Reserve delivered a one-two punch to market expectations today. First the FOMC minutes did not appear as hawkish as many expected. Several FOMC members wanted to see more job growth before pulling back on the throttle. Second,…

The ECB has moved toward forward guidance but they have been careful not to press too far ahead, I suspect because they wanted to get Weidmann on board. Here are two recent comments on ECB policy and some of my own.

Interest rates will stay low for a long time - long as in years, not months. In the UK there is a risk that a weakening currency may lead to some modest increase in inflation but, generally speaking, inflation is not a problem, and all…

The sharp jump in China's short-term rates has been nearly reversed. Repo rates are approaching their longer-term averages, with the PBoC coming to its senses and addressing the liquidity squeeze.

Fundamental and technical considerations are aligned in favor of the US dollar. The latest string of economic data, including the June employment report, is strengthening the market's conviction that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering…

By Marc Chandler The ECB took an unprecedented step today. Part of its mantra has been that it does not pre-commit. Today it did. It indicated interest rates will be the same or lower for an extended period of time. Draghi, when pressed,…