Central banks insist they are not done raising interest rates yet, with inflation still well below the 2% target. The result is that the EKT is currently at the highest interest rates in its history and the FED is at the highest interest rates in 22 years. At the same time, various side effects of …
Tag: inflation
How can Wages increase in practice?
Although nominal wages rose sharply in the 1980s, high inflation did not allow for an increase in real terms. Over the past decade, the average real wage has been on an upward trend, but then the Covid-19 pandemic and high inflation created strong pressures on incomes. The growth of economies today supports significant wage growth …
The way of estimating the Nominal value of Public Sector Expenditures
A few days ago, the IMF published a study on the impact of inflation on public finances (“The Effects of Inflation on Public Finances“, May 5, 2023). The Study is based on the data of the member countries of the Fund from 1962 to the present day and comes to two interesting findings: 1. Regarding …
FED: Raised interest rates to 15-year highs
In a new increase in interest rates, this time by 50 basis points, the US Federal Reserve proceeded in an attempt to contain inflation that “runs” at a multiple rate of the 2% target. The Fed’s key dollar lending rate is now in the range of 4.25% to 4.50%, the highest since 2007. Federal Reserve …
The “relationship” between unemployment and inflation that traps the strategy of Central Banks
This scheme argues that what causes inflation is basically an increase in demand, that is, when there is more demand in the market for goods and services which in turn increases prices and therefore inflation. A key aspect of this pattern of increased demand is that it has to do with the ability of workers …
The Reasons That Lead the Global Economy to “Difficult Paths”
The world economy is likely to be headed for a new recession and overall a time of difficulties. Things are not so good. This has to do with the combination of a number of structural trends currently permeating the global economy. 1. Inflation is here to stay There is a more structural dimension to inflation, …
The ECB’s aggressive interest rate hike is causing problems for the EU
The ECB’s aggressive interest rate hike is causing problems for everyone in Europe. To citizens who are asked to pay a higher installment on their mortgage or consumer loan, to businesses that are raising the cost of servicing their loans, to states that see their existing bonds collapse, and even to public debt that, instead …
Why the EU’s Proposal to Impose a Cap Only on Russian Natural Gas is Wrong?
In the past two weeks the structural pathologies responsible for the EU’s energy gridlock have combined with a series of extreme weather events – such as unprecedented drought – to record unimaginable energy prices. The day-ahead electricity prices in France, the EU’s traditional electricity exporting power, reached on September 2 even above 1,000€/MWh, while natural …
The Limits of “Economic Orthodoxy”
Every year the executives of the US Federal Reserve System gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for an annual financial symposium. At this year’s meeting, everyone was expecting the position of Fed chief Jerome Powell. And the message from the American central banker was clear: at the moment the priority is to reduce inflation. The direction …
The Big Dilemma: Interest Rates Increases or Price Controls
The main driving force of inflation in Europe is not excessive demand, but mainly energy market problems and secondarily shortages and consequent price increases in raw materials or intermediate and final goods, due to the war in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic in China. If nominal interest rates rise do you think the problems will …