RBI‘s monetary policy committee on Friday decided to keep interest rates on hold for the seventh successive meeting, stating that “growth has surpassed all projections but cautioned that food price uncertainties continue to weigh on the inflation trajectory going forward”. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said, “Two years ago, when inflation was at its peak at … Read more
Temporary food shocks, fiscal consolidation and high real interest rates have created the scope for reduction in policy interest rates, said external members of the Monetary Policy Committee, but those from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) believe that the markets are running ahead of policy makers. Prof. J.R. Varma, who voted for a reduction … Read more
You have criticized monetary policymakers’ response to the 2008 global economic crisis, which had profound spillover effects to which they “paid insufficient heed.” In your new book, Monetary Policy and Its Unintended Consequences, you offer a “sketch of a model” showing how monetary-policy spillovers “cause leveraging, booms, and eventually busts in capital-receiving countries.” How … Read more
While industrial output growth fell to an eight-month low of 2.4% in November, consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rose 5.69%, its fastest pace in four months in December, the statistics ministry said. Though factory output points to a slowdown in manufacturing growth momentum in November, in the April-November period of this fiscal, it expanded 6.4%, … Read more
The targeted strikes by the US and the UK on Houthi militia have increased the worry for policymakers as the disruption around Red Sea has now begun to impact supply chains apart from making shipping schedules erratic. While the commerce department is working on an inter-ministerial consultation next week to address some of the concerns … Read more
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she sees a good chance of the US economy achieving a soft landing, with the unemployment rate — which has ticked up in recent months — averting a sharp increase. “Signs are very good that we’ll achieve a soft landing, with unemployment stabilizing more or less where it is, or … Read more
Federal Reserve policymakers at their most recent meeting united around a strategy to “proceed carefully” on future interest-rate moves and base any further tightening on progress toward their inflation goal. “All participants agreed that the committee was in a position to proceed carefully and that policy decisions at every meeting would continue to be based … Read more
Retail inflation moderated to 6.83% in August from a 15-month high of 7.44% in July due to easing vegetable prices, offering a measure of relief to the Indian central bank and bond investors. Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation, however, continued to exceed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) target range of 2-6%. A Mint poll … Read more
The chief economists at the American Bankers Association are of the opinion that the US Federal Reserve is done with raising interest rates and will likely to cut them by roughly one percentage point next year, reported the Bloomberg. The latest forecast from the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association shows that the … Read more