The Scottish nationalists aren’t credible on keeping sterling February 13, 2014 THE gloves are finally off. The London political establishment’s message to Scotland is clear: stay in the UK, or lose the pound. The nationalists are in deep trouble on this question, but as ever the argument is more complex than both sides might imagine. Is the Scottish National Party (SNP) right that it could keep [...]
There is a real chance Carney’s high stakes bet will end in tears February 13, 2014 LET’S face it: monetary policy in the UK has become much harder to understand, in no small part because of Mark Carney’s botched forward guidance. Starting in the 1990s, and until the recession, most people, when asked what the Bank of England was trying to do, would have replied that it was seeking to control [...]
There is a real chance Carney’s high stakes bet will end in tears February 12, 2014 LET’S face it: monetary policy in the UK has become much harder to understand, in no small part because of Mark Carney’s botched forward guidance. Starting in the 1990s, and until the recession, most people, when asked what the Bank of England was trying to do, would have replied that it was seeking to control [...]
Bank of England sees unemployment falling below threshold – but sees scope to keep rates on hold February 12, 2014 Mark Carney was always going to have to pull something out of the bag this morning. The Bank of England governor has been wedged between two forces as the Inflation Report is released. Having introduced forward guidance, in an attempt to give direction over the path of future policy, the sudden and unexpected fall in [...]
What you need to know before the open – 12/02 February 12, 2014 Janet Yellen’s dovish comments yesterday left markets upbeat. Today, European markets await the Bank of England’s inflation report. ETX Capital #MorningCall FTSE +16, DAX +40, CAC +13, IBEX +52, SP +1, DOW -8 — ETX Capital (@ETXCapital) February 12, 2014 The crucial question is whether governor Mark Carney quietly does away with the [...]
Dovish Yellen lifts markets February 11, 2014 NEW FEDERAL Reserve chair Janet Yellen buoyed markets yesterday, insisting that the US jobs recovery is “far from complete” – even as the Fed tapers quantitive easing (QE) by $10bn (£6.07bn) each month. The Fed previously said it would not consider raising interest rates until unemployment dropped below 6.5 per cent, but Yellen’s comments strongly [...]
New York Report: Debt deal sees stocks get a lift February 11, 2014 WALL STREET rose for a fourth straight session yesterday as Congress agreed to advance legislation extending US borrowing authority and the Federal Reserve’s new chief held off from making any changes to its schedule for trimming stimulus. Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives caved in to demands by President Barack Obama and agreed [...]
One US politician just asked the Fed’s Yellen an impossible question February 11, 2014 Janet Yellen just got a question that no-one can truthfully answer. When representative Gregory Meeks asked Yellen to "identify the jobs" of the future, so that America can train workers accordingly, he was asking the impossible. While Meeks spoke of how mechanisation has eliminated some positions, he was only able to do so with the [...]
Fed chair Yellen answers the big jobs question February 11, 2014 It's the question everyone's asking. Is present unemployment a result of cyclical or structural factors? The Fed chair said that cylical factors have played the biggest role in the employment rise. BTIG's chief global strategist Dan Greenahaus says that this insight "really matters", as it suggests that the Fed can and should keep pushing ahead. [...]
Yellen says this traditional monetary policy rule doesn’t work under current conditions February 11, 2014 Fed chair Janet Yellen has said that the Taylor Rule – a monetary policy rule that compares inflation and actual GDP with potential GDP – doesn't work under current conditions. Yellen noted in answer to financial services committee chairman Jeb Hensarling that the Taylor Rule would have prescribed negative interest rates. That meant that other [...]