There’s no reason why Australian lenders couldn’t offer 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, as they do in the US. It could save borrowers thousands of dollars in interest a year.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is talking tough on inflation.
EPA
Until recently the Federal Reserve had been purchasing roughly $120 billion of assets every month to support the US economy. The Fed began scaling back those purchases in November and doubled the pace on Dec. 15.
Used car and truck prices are up 31% over the previous year.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Central bankers are coming under mounting pressure to get inflation under control.
Biden reappointed Jerome Powell, seated at left, to head the Fed. Some progressives wanted him replaced with Lael Brainard, seated right.
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
After weeks of mulling, Biden decided to give Powell another term as Fed chair, which means he will have more influence over the trajectory of inflation than anyone else.
Extinction Rebellion protesters outside the Bank of England, September 2021.
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Central bankers are expected to discuss the racial income and wealth gaps during the virtual Jackson Hole retreat. But an economist argues that the Fed is not suited for addressing these issues.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Central banking was given to technocrats whose job is to make the difficult decisions. But there are parameters. And within these, central bankers must act independently, without fear or favour.
Unconventional policies can be used to alleviate — instead of exacerbate — inequality, something Canadians are clamouring for. The Bank of Canada needs to rediscover its former innovation zeal.
Since its creation in 1999, the inflation rate in the euro zone has only exceeded 4 percent for a few months, on the eve of the Great Recession of 2008.
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Massive stimulus plans combined with rising production costs could lead to expectations that inflation will rise. And that alone could trigger an inflationary spiral not seen in 25 years.
While Trump’s nominee to join the Fed favors returning to the gold standard, an economist explains why the US and the rest of the world abandoned it in the first place.
Distinguished Professor and Derek Schrier and Cecily Cameron Chair in Development Economics, School of Economics and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand