How much longer will the dollar be the reserve currency?
byWe use the term “reserve currency” when referring to the common use of the dollar by other countries when settling their international trade accounts….
Quantitative Easing
That US debt ceiling and the Fed
byWe are now into a second week of a partial Federal Government shut-down, which is causing considerable concern, centred on the Government’s ability to…
The four words that define western economic policy
by“The goods and services traded on the semi-secretive website Silk Road since February 2011 with the virtual currency Bitcoins were so varied that the…
Central bank balance sheets
byNow that there is growing evidence of GDP growth, we must consider a new topic: the likely effect on central bank balance sheets, using…
Taper (where?) party
by“This took guts.” – Comment by Steven Ricchiuto of Mizuho Securities in response to the Federal Reserve’s surprise decision to refrain from “tapering” its…
King Carney fails to command the tides
by“Sir, Martin Sandbu writes: “We should not worry about inflation – if we strip out volatile or policy-driven elements, it stands at 1.5%, according…
ToP of the BoPs
byOver the past four decades the global economy has largely experienced prolonged imbalances, with countries running large current account deficits in symbiotic relationships with…
End of QE? – I don’t buy it
byA new meme is spreading in financial markets: the Fed is about to turn off the monetary spigot. US Printmaster General Ben Bernanke announced…
Are central bankers losing control?
byThe last couple of weeks have been very interesting. Remember that, certain regional differences aside, Japan has, for the past two-plus decades, been the…
Is present monetary policy rational?
byWhile the stance of monetary policy around the world has, on any conceivable measure, been extreme, by which I mean unprecedentedly accommodative, the question…