This article is published in association with IMF. Jorge Alvarez, Alberto Musso, Jean-Marc Natal, Sebastian Wende The inflation surge followed a unique disruption to the global economy, but it still offers important lessons for central banks The inflation surge over the past three years followed a unique disruption to the global economy. Pandemic lockdowns initially tilted […]Global Inflationary Episode Offers Lessons for Monetary Policy
October 17, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is published in association with IMF. Jorge Alvarez, Alberto Musso, Jean-Marc Natal, Sebastian Wende The inflation surge followed a unique disruption to the global economy, but it still offers important lessons for central banks The inflation surge over the past three years followed a unique disruption to the global economy. Pandemic lockdowns initially tilted […]Draghi’s negative interest rates help Eurozone’s cohesion
June 10, 2019 by 1 Comment
Super Mario did it again. Only months before leaving the helm of the European Central Bank he made sure his accommodative monetary policy will hold well, even after he leaves Frankfurt am Main. Last Thursday, he pushed interest rates below the zero level for at least another year. Even if his successor will be a […]The world condemned by neo-liberals to feed trillions to banks: the New Deal exorcised
May 2, 2019 by 1 Comment
One after the other, all the major central banks of the world follow the regrettable example of the Fed and the ECB in reversing their efforts to contain the greed of the financial mammoths. The American central bank, the Fed, and the European Central Bank will continue feeding the giant financial conglomerates with $4.5 trillion […]The financial world upside-down: debt failure closer
March 28, 2019 by Leave a Comment
A round $10 trillion worth of bonds are currently being traded in world markets on negative interest rates. At the same time, the European Central Bank prepares to flood the Eurozone and the banking world with hundreds of billions of zero interest rate euros, in an abrupt change of monetary policy course from restrictive to […]Draghi: ECB to flood Eurozone and the world with more zero cost money; risk of drowning in cash
March 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, the European Central Bank decided to start again feeding the bankers with more zero cost trillions. This was a surprise to many, because everybody thought the €2.6 trillion the ECB has already handed to banks free of charge were enough. Seemingly, Mario Draghi thinks it is not and hurried to invite the bankers […]Fed and ECB prepare a new party for the financial sharks
February 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment
At the time of trillion dollar companies and global borrowing much above the 2008 crisis levels, and after nine years of continued swelling of values in all and every western capital markets, bankers decided there cannot be turning back to normality, interest rates and debt wise. They say the thing must not be stopped from […]Trade war or not New York bankers will have it their way
January 7, 2019 by 1 Comment
The US and China agreed to hold talks on 7-8 January in Beijing to settle their trade differences, which have already eaten into both economies and disturb the global financial universe. If they fail to agree this week, the impact will be worse. It seems things are so bad, that the US Federal Reserve Chairman […]Draghi to lay his print on long term ECB policies prior to exiting next year
September 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, was criticized by major global financial media for insisting to end the easy money policy this December. The argument is that, after ECB’s Governing Council decided at the end of the prosperous 2017 to end its extraordinary monetary policy, the world has become a riskier place. […]ECB: Monetary policy decisions
June 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment
ECB Governing Council and Press Conference in Riga, Latvia. ECB photo, some rights reserved. This article is brought to you from ECB’s Media Services On 14 June 2018 meeting, which was held in Riga, the Governing Council of the ECB undertook a careful review of the progress towards a sustained adjustment in the path of […]Draghi to hold on zero interest rates until he leaves ECB
June 18, 2018 by 3 Comments
The announcement of the end of the monthly money injections into Eurozone by Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank was not received in the capital markets as a hawkish toughening of monetary policy, as it theoretically should have been. The reasons are many. On the contrary, the euro lost more ground with […]The ECB must extend its money stimulus beyond 2018: Draghi reckoning
April 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, 26 April Mario Draghi, tactfully left it to be understood that Eurozone may not any more grow so fast as we all knew it was doing until recently, and, consequently, the inflation goal of close to 2% may not be achievable. He communicated that by not repeating what he had said on 8 […]Germany resists Macron’s plan for closer and more cohesive Eurozone; Paris and Berlin at odds
April 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last week, surprising everybody, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France and member of European Central Bank’s Governing Council said that the decision to stop ECB’s extraordinarily accommodating monetary measures this year, is premature. So, according to him, the central bank must continue applying its extra relaxed measures well beyond this year. […]Draghi strives to control the unruly exploitation of financial markets by banking leviathans
March 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment
During the past few weeks, financial markets sharks have been sending stock and bond prices and money parities wildly up and down, while busy securing for themselves hefty short term gains. Obviously, this is to the detriment of the real economy, where values are produced by technology and sweat. In Europe and, partly, in the […]Draghi tells the EU Parliament his relaxed policies are here to stay
March 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The too slow or non existing pace of wage increases is the main reason for the non revival of inflation in Eurozone. This is what Mario Draghi told the Economic Committee of the European Parliament last Monday. He added that this is why the economic slack in the euro area may be larger than we […]Will the end of QE come along with ECB’s inflation target?
January 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The European Central Bank (ECB) will end its Quantitative Easing (QE) programme within the year as the Eurozone continues growing. However, the inflation rate which is not increasing as much as the ECB officials would like, stands as a barrier to its monetary policy. According to Reuters, sources close to the ECB mentioned that the […]Draghi keeps the euro cheap, helps debt refinancing, recapitalization of banks and growth
December 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, the European Central Bank decided to keep flooding the Eurozone with hundreds of billions, despite strong objections coming from the frugal German-Dutch duo. Mario Draghi was adamant about that. It’s interesting to follow his response to a journalist’s remark, who reminded him that the “Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot said in a […]Banks, insurance giants are free again to abuse the real economy
November 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Not many years after the financial meltdown of 2008-2010, the main culpable parties for that global catastrophe, the big banks and the gigantic insurance companies are now commandingly asking the world to forget that. They demand to be again left completely unchecked, free to repeat what they did then; inflate all and every market to […]Fed, ECB take positions to face the next global financial crisis; the Brits uncovered
November 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The appointment of Jerome Powell as the next head of the US central bank, the famous Fed, is a reassurance to the financial world that the giant lenders will continue being favored by ample and very cheap money. Last Thursday, Donald Trump, the American President didn’t dare to change the cautious approach to monetary policy. […]Extra mild ECB tapering of QE and zero interest rates keep euro low
October 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank performed again his superb balancing act, between the needs of the South and the demands of the North. He led the Governing Council of ECB, Eurozone’s most powerful body, to map the exit road from the extraordinary monetary measures (Quantitative Easing) state as frictionlessly […]German political spillovers: ECB’s Draghi resists first attacks by AfD
September 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, speaking at the Economic Committee of the European Parliament had the opportunity to test the grounds and familiarize himself with the nature of political climate he may come across after the German elections. He had a heated exchange with the head of the AfD group […]The silent euro-dollar parity war rages but realities at home prevail
September 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment
At last, the European economy is growing faster than the US. According to Eurostat, the EU’s, statistical service, during the second quarter of this year, GDP grew by 2.4% in the club of 28 member states compared to the same period of 2016 and 2,2% in the US. It’s worthwhile nothing that in both the […]Draghi’s 2018 compromise: enough money printing to revive inflation and check euro ascent
September 11, 2017 by 3 Comments
Last Thursday Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, reassured the Eurozone banking conglomerates they will continue being blessed with zero cost money, well into the foreseeable future. He stated, “one thing is clear; the bottom line is that interest rates will stay, as it’s written here, at the present levels (zero for […]Is euro to repeat its past highs with the dollar?
September 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The strengthening of the euro vis-à-vis the US dollar is taking alarming proportions, puzzling markets and the European Central Bank. The Eurozone single currency has gained 14% from the beginning of the year, with the tempo of appreciation accelerating. It gained around 10% during the summer. For around three years, the ECB has been following […]Berlin vies for a Germanic European Central Bank
August 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week, the deep German state struck again targeting the heart of Eurozone. The hit was effectuated by Sabine Lautenschläger, a middle aged Stuttgart born ex BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) employee and presently member of the powerful executive board of the European Central Bank. Sabine now wants the ECB to abandon its extraordinary monetary […]The ECB accuses the politicians of inaction, continues injecting billions to banks
July 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Saturday 8 July the Belgian newspaper De Standaard published an interview with Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board and chief economist of the European Central Bank. Praet said it plainly “We do say that we still need a long period of accommodative policy before we are ready”. What he means by ‘being ready’ […]ECB intervenes to clean May’s and Schäuble’s mess
June 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday 8 June, on the day the Britons were punishing Theresa May for her mistakes and arrogance, the European Central Bank under Mario Draghi was preparing for a less favorable politico-economic environment and a much longer disinflationary period. Indirectly, Mario Draghi blamed the dying out inflation on the avowed neoliberals, of the kind of […]Germany caught with selfish double standards in euro area policy
June 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Over the past three years the European Central Bank, guided by its President Mario Draghi, has been folowing a super relaxed monetary policy. It has been aiming at reviving uncertain economic growth and dying inflation, by handing out to banks, and through them to the economy, hundreds of billions of euro and at the same […]The ECB again takes care of the bankers not the people
May 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week the European Central Bank surprised everybody by letting it be known that interest rates will “remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of our net asset purchases”. To be noted, presently, the main refinancing operations interest rate is zero. Of course, the markets […]Trump to subject the Fed, challenge the ECB and make Wall St. bankers even richer
April 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It’s obvious by now that the European Central Bank and its President Mario Draghi are following a diametrically opposite monetary policy than the American central bank, the famous FeD. Both Draghi and ECB Vice President Vítor Constâncio have loudly reassured everybody that the Eurozone’s central bank will continue injecting €60 to €80 billion a month […]ECB steadily continues monetary easing policy as EU economy gains momentum
April 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
European Central Bank – Press Conference Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB, Mario Draghi President of ECB and Christine Graeff, Director General Communications (from left to right). Location: Frankfurt . Date: 09/03/2017 © ECB, 2017 / Source: ECB – Audiovisual Service It was last Thursday when the president of the European Central Bank gave a […]The four top Americans who flew to Europe perplexed things about Trump’s intentions
February 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Four top ranking Washington bigwigs – who flew to Munich, Brussels and Bonn to mend fences with Europe, after Donald Trump termed NATO ‘obsolete’ and rejoiced the unraveling of the EU, left the Europeans bewildered with the dangerously diverging stories they had to narrate. Only the extreme right wing, Polish Defense Minister Anton Macierewicz seemed […]Draghi repels Trump’s threats, rejects Schauble’s dictums
January 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, is under mounting pressures both at home and abroad. From the other side of the Atlantic US President Donald Trump is overtly targeting a much cheaper dollar compared to euro, while at his inaugural speech he clearly praised trade protectionism by saying, “Protection will lead to […]Germany and Europe prepare for Trump’s America
January 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Germany, and more generally the EU, is now preparing in earnest to confront the groundbreaking changes in their relations with Trump’s America. Last week, both the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Federal minister for Finance Wolfgang Schauble, made direct and indirect statements about the policies now needed for Germany and the European Union. On […]
