The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds continues to move above 1%, reaching 1.15% last week for the first time since the end of last February, when the severity of the coronavirus outbreak was becoming apparent. … READ MORE >
interest rates
Bank of England: Deteriorating economic outlook and negative interest rates
The Bank of England at its meeting on Thursday is expected to keep its policy matrix unchanged as it downgrades its economic outlook and publishes its view on the use of negative interest rates. … READ MORE >
Inflation-adjusted interest rates, investment and the middle market
A confluence of events and policy shifts has coalesced into a unique opportunity for middle market firms to make long-term strategic investments in their firms. Interest rates, once adjusted for inflation, reside in negative terrain. … READ MORE >
FOMC rate decision: Policy on hold as Fed extends asset purchases
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its $120 billion monthly asset purchases through September 2021 to provide sustained accommodation to the economy as it recovers from a deep pandemic-induced recession. … READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: Pandemic economics, in 14 charts
The bond market, and not the equity market, provides perhaps the best assessment of the future of the economy. And these days, no matter how you parse the data, the bond market is telling a clear story: The corporate sector and the broader economy remain at risk. … READ MORE >
FOMC comment: Fed follows through on its policy shift
Combined with the forward-looking interest rate forecast included in the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections, the FOMC’s statement shows that we are looking at five years at the least of rates remaining pinned to the zero boundary, if not far longer. … READ MORE >
Major policy shift at the Federal Reserve: average inflation targeting
Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell on Wednesday announced a significant shift in the central bank policy regime that moves away from its long held Phillips Curve-based trade-off between employment and inflation. This will provide the Federal Reserve more room for accommodation in an era of zero interest rate policy and position the central bank to support maximum sustainable employment without running the risk of higher inflation expectations and actual inflation. … READ MORE >
Fed intervenes in credit markets, but will it be enough?
The Federal Reserve along with its major central banking partners moved on Sunday to restore functioning credit markets in an attempt to put a floor under the global economy and calm financial markets. … READ MORE >
Bank of Canada lowers policy rate in response to health crisis
Canada’s central bank moved aggressively to drop its policy rate by 50 basis points, to 1.25%, following action taken by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. … READ MORE >
Federal Reserve meeting suddenly becomes interesting as coronavirus spreads
What was shaping up as one of the most boring policy rate decisions in some time has suddenly gained a measure of uncertainty because of investor concern about the coronavirus. … READ MORE >