Central Banking Series

Governments have been able to overrule the Reserve Bank for 80 years. Why stop now?

Nov 28, 2023 23:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Central Banks Economy

Pay close enough attention to parliament these next few days, and youre likely to witness something truly remarkable: politicians from both sides of politics uniting to remove the power of politicians to overrule the...

Central Banking Series

Why it's a good bet the RBA's Melbourne Cup Day interest rate hike will be the last

Nov 08, 2023 12:06 pm UTC| Economy Central Banks

Australia just became become the odd one out. At its meeting last week, the US Federal Reserve kept its official interest rate on hold. A week earlier, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada kept their rates...

Central Banking Series

Think the RBA will lift rates on Melbourne Cup day? Don't bet your house on it

Nov 01, 2023 07:11 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

Each of Australias big four banks is now predicting a rate rise in six days time on Melbourne Cup Tuesday. It would add another A$77 to the monthly cost of servicing a $500,000 mortgage and be enough to take the total...

Central Banking Series

If central banks don't start cutting them soon, it could actually increase inflation

Nov 01, 2023 07:03 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

What next for interest rates? The Bank of Englands Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to leave them unchanged when it meets on November 2, despite the fact that UK headline inflation is still at 6.7%. If...

As treasurer, Bill Hayden set Labor on the path to economic rationalism

Oct 24, 2023 09:21 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

Former Labor leader and governor-general Bill Hayden, whose death was announced on Saturday, is rightly being remembered for introducing Australias first universal healthcare scheme Medibank, which lives on today as...

Central Banking Series

Inflation: raising interest rates was never the right medicine

Oct 23, 2023 08:19 am UTC| Economy Central Banks

Inflation remains too high in the UK. The annual rate of consumer price inflation to September was 6.7%, the same as a month earlier. This is well below the 11.1% peak reached in October 2022, but the failure of inflation...

Central Banking Series

Interest rates: Monetary policy is always political as central banks opt to back the financial sector

Sep 29, 2023 08:50 am UTC| Economy Central Banks Politics

As the Bank of Canada prepared to announce its decision on interest rates in early September, Tiff Macklem, the banks governor, received imploring letters from premiers spanning both the country and the political...