Strong U.S. economic growth for the past few years was dampened by the first quarter 2024 results. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) dipped to an annualized rate of 1.6% relative to the robust 3.4% rate posted in the fourth quarter of 2023. While those results seem to align with the Federal Reserve's contractionary monetary policy, the inflation results do not. Inflation is once again moving higher and farther away from the Fed's 2% target rate.
Tag: central banks
It Was a Big Week for Interest Rates. Here’s What You Need to Know (Macro News for September 23, 2023 – September 29, 2023)
Central bankers around the world indicated that persistent inflation might result in future interest rate hikes, but most paused additional tightening to evaluate the impact of the contractionary policy to date. The Federal Reserve also stated that tight monetary policy might remain in effect longer than anticipated with fewer rate cuts than originally expected in 2024.
China is Lining Up a Harvard-Trained Economist as Its Next Central Bank Chief (Macro News for July 1, 2023 – July 7, 2023)
The Chinese government announced the appointment of a Chinese economist who studied at Harvard and Cambridge to a key post in the People's Bank of China (PBOC). The PBOC is China's equivalent of the Federal Reserve and the appointment may be a prelude to naming Pan Gongsheng to head the nation's central bank.
Bank of England Governor Says the UK is Facing a Wage-Price Spiral (Macro News for May 20, 2023 – May 26, 2023)
Andrew Bailey, head of the Bank of England, believes that the U.K.'s economy is in a wage-price spiral despite the bank's continued efforts to control inflation via a series of 12 consecutive increases in interest rates. He concedes that some of the inflation is due to higher energy prices but also places much of the blame on domestic wage growth.
Pearson Economic News 