With negative rates in Europe (the ECB deposit rate is -0.5% though the lending rate is zero), Switzerland and Japan, how low can rates go in the UK? The answer is that they can go lower, which means negative. The Bank of England is currently studying how that would work in practice, with the Governor …
Quantitative Easing and the risks of rising wealth inequality
In the face of unprecedented actions to safeguard public health, government-mandated lockdowns have seen global economies in free-fall. In response, central banks have embarked on several innovative monetary and fiscal measures. Official short-term interest rates were cut to record lows in most advanced economies. In some jurisdictions, like in the EU and Japan, rates have …
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The economy after the pandemic – what are the lasting effects?
One in 100-year events are supposed to be rare, but we have had two within the last ten years. The first was the global financial crisis in 2008 / 2009. The second is now the global pandemic. It means they are happening with more frequency, and as a result, we should be expecting another one …
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