Financial Times (March 10)
“Policymakers at the Bank of Japan are tackling a series of thorny policy debates as they confront the practicalities of raising interest rates for the first time since the summer of 2006.” Despite signaling the “unprecedented era of cheap money” could end with a rate increase as early as March, the BoJ “still faces a number of challenging decisions about how to leave negative rates behind without causing turmoil for global markets and Japanese lenders.”
Tags: 2006, BOJ, Cheap money, Confront, Global markets, Japan, Lenders, March, Negative rates, Policy debates, Policymakers, Practicalities, Thorny, Turmoil, Unprecedented era
Barron’s (January 24)
“The continued slide in Chinese stocks toward lows set more than a decade ago may be mobilizing Beijing’s policymakers into action. But it isn’t clear if it will be enough to help the country’s embattled economy or improve sentiment in a meaningful way.”
Tags: Action, Beijing, China, Clear, Economy, Embattled, Lows, Meaningful, Mobilizing, Policymakers, Sentiment, Slide, Stocks
Seeking Alpha (December 11)
“As markets gear up for major central bank meetings this week, starting with the Federal Reserve on Dec.12-13, all eyes will closely watch for any change in the policymakers’ tone to predict when rate cuts will begin and by how much.” The consensus is that the Fed keep “federal funds target range steady,” with “rate cuts starting in May.”
Tags: Central bank, Consensus, Federal Reserve, Markets, Meetings, Policymakers, Predict, Rate cuts, Steady
New York Times (October 24)
“To oil analysts and investors, Chevron’s $53 billion takeover of Hess confirmed that there’s a new cycle of consolidation in the industry, coming less than two weeks after Exxon Mobil’s $59.5 billion bid for Pioneer Natural Resources.” In spite of “pressure from climate-minded policymakers, investors and activists to embrace greener energy,” the majors are “instead focusing on getting bigger. That could create a larger gap in the industry between those who have the firepower and freedom to buy rivals, and those who, because of politics or finances, do not.”
Tags: Activists, Analysts, Chevron, Climate-minded, Consolidation, Exxon Mobil, Firepower, Freedom, Greener energy, Hess, Investors, Majors, Oil, Pioneer, Policymakers
Washington Post (September 12)
“After decades of relying on the U.S. security umbrella, many European policymakers are aware that an investment in Ukraine’s security is a down payment on their own. Their efforts are accelerating, but not fast enough to negate the potentially catastrophic fallout of a U.S. withdrawal.”
Tags: Accelerating, Catastrophic, Europe, Fallout, Investment, Policymakers, Relying, Security, Security umbrella, U.S., U.S. withdrawal, Ukraine
Reuters (July 3)
“Japanese business sentiment improved in the second quarter as raw material costs peaked and removal of pandemic curbs lifted consumption… a sign the economy was on course for a steady recovery.” The quarterly survey or “tankan” by the central bank offers “policymakers hope that conditions for phasing out their massive monetary stimulus may be gradually falling into place.”
Tags: Business sentiment, Consumption, Costs, Economy, Japan, Monetary stimulus, Pandemic curbs, Peaked, Policymakers, Q2, Raw material, Steady recovery
The Korea Economic Daily (June 15)
“Everything Asian policymakers were sure they knew about 2023 is going sideways.” When the year opened, “conventional wisdom” expected “Chinese growth would help the region make up for lost economic time.” Now the worry “is about deflation risks as factory-gate prices go negative” with consumer prices in China “on the verge of contraction.” Its exports are “cratering,” but China’s falling imports are “the bigger problem for Korea, and Asia more broadly.” In May, China’s imports fell by 4.5%, “dampening hopes that post-pandemic ‘revenge spending’ by 1.4 billion Chinese would propel Asian growth sharply higher.”
Tags: Asia, China, Consumer prices, Contraction, Cratering, Deflation risks, Exports, Factory-gate prices, Growth, Imports, Korea, Negative, Policymakers, Sideways
Reuters (July 21)
“Worries over a global slowdown are casting a shadow over Asia’s recovery prospects with factory activity growth slowing in Japan and Australia, keeping pressure on policymakers to support their economies while tightening monetary policy to combat inflation.”
Tags: Asia, Australia, Factory activity, Global slowdown, Inflation, Japan, Monetary policy, Policymakers, Recovery, Slowing, Support, Tightening, Worries
Washington Post (February 18)
“The U.S. economy has an inflation problem the likes of which haven’t been seen in 40 years, and the main policymakers in charge of keeping it in check — at the Federal Reserve — have been far too slow to even admit there is a problem, let alone to start addressing it. It is time for the Fed to get aggressive.”
Tags: Aggressive, Economy, Fed, Inflation, Policymakers, Problem, Slow, U.S.
Bloomberg (February 7)
“The coronavirus outbreak hasn’t sapped China’s animal spirits. The private sector-heavy ChiNext Index soared to 3-year high this week.” Seems absurd, but the “epidemic is giving policymakers the opportunity to correct past mistakes without looking silly…. At long last, Beijing can toss away its misguided war on shadow banking and design a smarter one that gives the private sector some room to breathe.”
Tags: Animal spirits, China, ChiNext, Coronavirus, Correct, Epidemic, Outbreak, Policymakers, Private-sector, Shadow banking
