Growth
Bank Negara Malaysia cuts policy rate to fresh low
Labour market weakness and cautious households may hamper recovery, central bank warns
Covid-19 is chance to lower carbon dioxide trajectory – SF Fed research
CO2 emissions likely to fall dramatically in 2020; targeted fiscal spending and telecommuting trends could cut trajectory, researchers say
EMEs should lower rates when faced with capital outflows – Fed research
Not cutting rates could worsen GDP and accelerate outflows, researchers find
Peter Praet on Europe’s Covid-19 responses
The former ECB chief economist talks about threats to financial stability, negative rates, common debt issuance and steps to improve the EMU
US facing new challenges as Covid cases surge – Powell
Powell warns of public confidence hit as US infections soar past previous peak
IMF outlook worsens as pandemic intensifies
Fund warns of medium-term challenges for fiscal consolidation and trade
Brazil close to limit of monetary easing – minutes
Rate-setters stress new interest rate cuts could imperil financial stability
Paraguay cuts rates to 0.75%
Economic activity declined significantly in April, central bank reports
Covid-19 and oil: a tale of three countries
Oil-dependent nations are facing a crisis on two fronts. Central banks must now strike a balance between keeping inflation in check and restoring growth
Costa Rica cuts rates to lowest level in over 10 years
Covid-19 has accelerated a disinflationary trend, central bank says
US economy entering ‘bounce back’ phase – Powell
Fed chair forced to defend move to follow through with corporate bond purchases in Senate hearing
Fed policy is too tight given FOMC projections – former Fed economist
“An outlook that bad for that long is a clear sign that policy is too tight,” Joseph Gagnon says
UK GDP growth plunges to -20% in April
Figure is worst on record, but may be somewhat better than earlier official estimates
Fed promises to keep buying assets at current rate
Fed will hold accommodation in place for “however long it takes”, chair Jerome Powell says; FOMC releases first projections this year
Bank of Uganda cuts rate and warns of lasting disruption
Central bank cuts rates and narrows target band, as impact of Covid-19 in Uganda continues to play out
Central banking enters a new era
Central banks face a delicate balancing act to preserve their reputations as they evolve into ‘buyers of last resort’ and some of their actions appear functionally equivalent to ‘monetary financing’
ECB expected to sharply increase PEPP purchases
Central bank could start reinvesting PEPP securities and increase supranationals’ share
Campos Neto on reforming Brazil’s economy amid Covid-19 distress
The Central Bank of Brazil governor speaks about how Brazil is managing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the benefit of large reserves, his plans to deploy emergency asset purchases and why he favours extending the IMF’s SDR funding
Banxico forecasts Mexican economy could fall by 8.8% in 2020
Central bank stresses the profound uncertainty to which the economy is subject
National Bank of Poland cuts rates again but predicts recovery
“Significant fall” in activity likely to reverse in latter part of the year, policy-makers say
Bank of Korea cuts policy rate to new record low
Bank of Korea slashes key rate to record low of 0.5%; economy is expected to grow at the slowest pace in over two decades due to Covid-19
The ECB, the lockdown and the monetary financing lock
The eurozone’s central bank may need to break its prohibition on monetary financing to fight the pandemic
Eurozone saw limited price convergence from 2001–11 – Bank of Spain
Researchers say this limited long-term alignment should be added to central bank policy framework
Economists race to merge epidemiology and macro
Promising results are emerging, but workable forecasts may be some way off