Growth
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
UK economy faces 30% contraction in Q2
NIESR estimate comes as official GDP figures show sharp decline in opening stages of lockdown
RBNZ nearly doubles asset purchase programme
Policy-makers aim to front-load stimulus as economy faces “significant and unprecedented decline”
Scale of Covid-19 impact shows up starkly in US stats
All of the US’s key macroeconomic indicators point to a dramatic slump
Could engineering higher inflation help manage fiscal deficits?
Fiscal and monetary co-ordination could be a workable option for the Covid-19 recovery, Chicago Fed paper finds
Sri Lankan central bank looks back at ‘dismal’ year
Economy was just recovering from terrorist attacks when Covid-19 hit, CBSL says
Strict lockdown could cause 37% quarterly GDP contraction – RBNZ
Assessment shows impact of containment measures on New Zealand’s economic output
CBRT battles external imbalance with dwindling reserves
Turkish central bank loses battle to keep lira under 7 as reserves shrink, but pressures may be easing
RBA holds rate and reveals forecast scenarios
Cash rate target remains at 0.25%; RBA maintains three-year bond yield target at 0.25%
Dominican Republic governor opposes ‘inadmissible’ pension proposal
Allowing workers to withdraw savings could create long-term crisis, Héctor Valdez Albizu warns
Bank Negara Malaysia cuts rate as global outlook darkens
Fresh easing measures come as central bank foresees “particularly challenging” first half of year
MAS rolls out second relief package for individuals
Individuals can defer repayments of student and car loans as MAS aims to ease debt burden amid growing uncertainty
Lower refinancing can dampen economic recovery – Fed research
US mortgage refinancing activity remained muted after falling during 2008 crisis, researchers find
Debts, deficits, central banks and inflation
Forrest Capie and Geoffrey Wood ask what insights history can provide for central banks and governments managing abrupt, large increases in debt