Bloomberg (June 15)
The Federal Reserve “must do more than raise rates by 75 points.” It needs to “regain control of the inflation narrative to avoid inflicting more economic damage and to restore its credibility.”
Tags: 75 points, Credibility, Economic damage, Fed, Inflation narrative, Raise, Rates, Regain control, Restore
Northern Trust Advisor Perspectives (June 8)
“Inflation across advanced economies has increased to rates not seen in multiple decades. Japan, where the headline consumer price index rose by only 2.5% for the twelve months ending in April, stands as an exception.” Though this “appears moderate… it is very high for a country where a generation has never seen sustained price increases. Japan’s inflation has averaged only 0.3% in the past three decades.”
Tags: Advanced economies, CPI, Exception, Generation, Increased, Inflation, Japan, Moderate, Price increases, Rates
New York Times (November 4)
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced a tapering of stimulus programs, but he did not “lay the groundwork for higher rates.” That doesn’t mean “the era of near-zero rates will last anything close to as long as it did after the global financial crisis,” but if the current inflation surge “proves something other than temporary, Mr. Powell’s decision to stick to his guns” on interest rates “will loom as a missed moment to join other English-speaking countries in using monetary policy to try to stamp it out.”
Tags: Fed, Global financial crisis, Inflation, Interest, Monetary policy, Near-zero, Powell, Rates, Stimulus, Surge, Tapering
MarketWatch (March 28)
“Despite the upbeat note that the final full week in March delivered, strategists and market participants were chirping about a major block trade in the final minutes of Friday trading that could portend further stress on the market, which has been subject to bouts of turbulence as rising interest rates amid the rollout of COVID vaccines and a $1.9 trillion aid package complicate the financial outlook.”
Tags: Block trade, Covid, March, Market, Rates, Rollout, Strategists, Stress, Turbulence, Upbeat, Vaccines
Reuters (March 23)
“China is consciously uncoupling from Western peers on rates. Its central bank has held lending benchmarks steady as global peers slash…. The People’s Bank of China’s relative immobility has surprised many economists…. The spread between 10-year Chinese government bonds and U.S. Treasuries is nearly two percentage points, its widest since 2015.”
Tags: Benchmarks, Central bank, China, Economists, PBOC, Rates, Spread, Steady, U.S., Uncoupling, Western
Chicago Tribune (September 7)
“Homeowners located in areas that are expected to flood every 100 years are required to buy flood insurance…. But they pay rates far lower than the risks warrant. That gap deprives builders of incentives to stay out of low-lying areas that are vulnerable to flooding — or to elevate structures to keep them dry when the waters rise. It also promotes the destruction of wetlands that could reduce flooding. Oh, and it helps to tilt migration toward vulnerable coastal regions like those of Texas and Florida.”
Tags: Builders, Coastal regions, Destruction, Flood, Florida, Homeowners, Insurance, Rates, Texas, Vulnerable, Wetlands
Institutional Investor (October 21)
“Negative interest rates are nothing new in Europe, where some central banks have effectively been charging depositors since 2014. But if rates stay below zero much longer, the region’s banks and institutional investors may have to rethink their portfolios to keep afloat.”
Tags: Banks, Central banks, Depositors, Europe, Institutional investors, Negative interest, Portfolios, Rates
Reuters (September 13)
With cargo trapped and delayed, the Hanjin bankruptcy is creating giant supply chain ripple effects. “Consumers should start preparing to pay more for holiday cheer this year. Experts predict that Hanjin ships won’t emerge from receivership until after the holiday season.” Temporarily, at least, that’s good for other shipping companies. “Space is suddenly at a premium…Rates could spike 50 percent as soon as October.”
Tags: Bankruptcy, Cargo, Consumers, Hanjin, Premium, Rates, Shipping companies
Institutional Investor (April 23)
“Rate announcements by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan will loom large this coming week as investors consider the alternate reality of negative interest rates. Meanwhile, key economic indicators for onetime BRIC stars Russia and Brazil will arrive as each suffers from the weight of low oil prices and Brazil deals with domestic political intrigue surrounding the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.”
Tags: Announcements, BOJ, Brazil, BRICS, Economic indicators, Fed, Impeachment, Negative interest, Oil, Rates, Rousseff, Russia
Financial Times (April 12)
“There are clear practical limits to cutting rates indefinitely; and in the eurozone at least, the policy may be close to its political limits. The question now is what should take its place…. Opponents of negative rates need to spell out the alternatives.”
Tags: Alternatives, eurozone, Limits, Negative rates, Opponents, Rates
