Juan Pedro Marín-Arrese | The Fed is running out of munition after raising its rates substantially. The narrowing margin forces it to slow down monetary tightening. Keeping unabated its previous speed would wreak havoc on the economy. Yet, Jay Powell countered any hope of further softening by delivering a relentless hawkish message at the latest press meeting that plunged stocks into utter disarray. Powell made it crystal clear at Jackon…
J.P. Marín-Arrese | While markets mildly reacted to the widely discounted rate hike and the prospect of protracted high-interest levels, the stern message delivered by Jerome Powell unsettled them. Stocks tumbled as he emphasised the Fed’s commitment to tighten its policy as long as inflation remains unabated, flying high above its 2% medium-term target. In short, he sounded ready to do ‘whatever it takes’ to curb the current price spiral….
J.P. Marín-Arrese|Skyrocketing prices confront central bankers with a challenging dilemma. Their sacred duty to preserve stability forces them to take vigorous action to curb inflation. Yet, they are conscious that tightening the monetary stance will fail to put on hold the current supply shock. Worse still, only by pulling hard on the hand brake coulld they stop short prices from escalating. A move that would come at a heavy cost…
The FED not only held unchanged its rates in its last FOMC meeting last week. It plunged investors into utter disarray by delivering an extremely dovish message on future action. The prospect of a hike this year loses steam while bewildered markets pull back to the waiting game.
Barclays | We expect the Fed to remain on hold at its September meeting, deferring rate hikes while it assesses renewed risks to the outlook.
South Korean economist Ha-Joon Chang argues that although orthodox thinking is to cut debt, the most effective way for countries to grow is to boost their income. As for the recovery, this expert in emerging markets notes that the world economy is not really picking up in the way that it usually does after a big downturn. This is the first part of our conversation.
By Peter Lundgreen via Caixin | The turmoil on world financial markets has more to do with global changes that need to be noted than recent volatility in China’s stock exchange.
The Fed’s wavering over addressing the matter of its announced rate hike has badly affected the markets, increasing their volatility. It should act now, curbing any further speculation, and disregard recent calls from the IMF and the World Bank to further delay this move.
Jackson Hole does not clear up the doubts over whether or not there will be a rate hike in September.
And what if there is no lift-off in September?