monetary policy

A week ago I wrote that I believed QE will end this year after tapering off in June. I stand by this stance. However, we have heard from three Fed officials in the interim and I wanted to pass on what they are saying to gauge how likely it…

I was on BNN's Headline with Howard Green yesterday talking about the Fed's QE program. I said that QE would be tapered and I believe it will likely end at the end of this year if the economy does not slip into recession. This is the…

The Bank of Japan is taking the concept of quantitative easing to a whole new level. Unlike the Fed who is only focused on treasuries and agency MBS securities, the BOJ is authorized to purchase ETFs and REITs in addition to JGBs.

"With the current policy, will need force to keep it going against the interests of the people. You do not need to be a eurosceptic to conclude that such a monetary union is also deeply immoral." - Wolfgang Manchau, Eurozone Break-Up Edges…

Quick note here on the US and the UK to change things up a bit from the Cyprus obsession.

According to an analysis by Reuters, small and medium-sized banks in the US have started to take on risk as the squeeze in net interest margins is beginning to hurt profitability. The goal is to boost returns despite the low-interest rate…

Despite calls from the junior coalition partner the Lib Dems, some businesses and the IMF, we expect Osborne and the Tory-led UK government to maintain the fiscal strategy of austerity. The austerity is counter-intuitively (for some),…

the US uses government money as the currency of account, there is no government budget constraint in the short or long run. Though even so-called Keynesians like Paul Krugman act like there is. The reality is that government can spend as…

I mentioned Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen's speech in the last post. I tend to like the way she phrases things because her statements are the clearest of all of the major FOMC policy makers. This speech is in that vein. If I could summarize…

The Bank of Japan is now considering whether to move to balance sheet expansion in its bid to lift the Japanese economy out of deflation. Japanese policy, which will then further tighten the nexus between fiscal and monetary policy, is now…