J. P. Marín-Arrese | Once again, Jerome Powell played down the need for monetary easing in the press conference following the Fed’s rate cut decision. His unconvincing delivery led Mr Trump to heap scorn on his uninspiring performance. For once, his bitter recriminations were fully justified.
J. P. Marín-Arrese | All Brexiteers want is fast delivery and no one better placed than Boris to capitalise on their anger and frustration.
J. P. Marín-Arrese | Against all odds, Draghi has secured consensus over his stimuli package by a cunny trade-off between the subdued intensity of individual measures in exchange of ample coverage. His brilliant brinkmanship as Chair of the ECB facilitates the task of his successor as Ms Lagarde can wait-and-see comfortably cushioned by a strong and comprehensive arsenal relieving her of the need to change course for many months to come.
J.P. Marín Arrese | This motto struck by Bertrand Russell galvanised those opposed to the nuclear weapons race. In his view, surrendering to communism stood as a less harmful choice than the dire prospect of massive immolation in a new world war. Fortunately, we skipped confronting the bad and worst alternatives Mr Russell thought would inevitably emerge.
JP Marín-Arrese | Christine Lagarde’s nomination ensures the ECB will fully preserve Draghi’s heritage. It will certainly deliver a substantive loosening in monetary policy over the coming months. Everyone expects the first move to materialise this week, probably a rate cut. Anything short of a clear message in the coming press conference would deeply disappoint the markets. Whatever happens next Thursday, more robust action will materialise before the year close.
J. P. Marín-Arrese | While betting on such firepower helped to ground the recovery, its ability to deliver a sustained boom seems less obvious.
J. P. Marín-Arrese | US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell faces the dilemma of choosing the right path, confronted with conflicting data and forecasts. While the US economy grew at a booming 4% rate in the first quarter, inflation trails far behind the Fed’s objective and salaries fail to pick up despite historically low levels of unemployment. Moreover, the trade tug-of-war with China is denting confidence in consumers and investors alike. Should the conflict turn worse, the economy might suffer a harsh blow.
J.P. Marín-Arrese | Even if income losses could shore up to some extent the immediate impact of a recessive bout, running huge deficits would exert a destabilising and uneven effect on public finances. The lack of risk-sharing schemes weighs down on Euro-zone resilience when subject to severe strain as record shows.
J.P. Marín- Arrese | The PM has dramatically shifted her Brexit plans. She no longer clings to forcefully maintaining them against all the odds. Her doomed proposal will suffer yet another rebuke from Parliament. Immediately, she will put on vote the ‘no deal’ option, betting it will sink deep enough to thoroughly disallow its supporters.
J.P. Marín- Arrese | The Spanish government has released its main budgetary lines, in a rather unusual and surprising way. For, it holds responsible the former PP Cabinet for most of the expenses plus a sizeable deviation from the deficit goal in 2018. The least one can say is that such a baffling message underlines its inability to curb the imbalance while enjoying power for the second half of this year.