Carolynn Look,Jana Randow, (2017), “ECB to Consider Cutting QE Purchases in Half Next Year”, Bloomberg, 13 Οctober   European Central Bank officials are considering cutting their monthly bond buying by at least half starting in January and keeping their program active for at least nine months, according to officials familiar with the debate.Policy makers led by President Mario Draghi are becoming increasingly confident that they can agree on Oct. 26 to the …Read More

IMF (2017), “Global Financial Stability Report October 2017: Is Growth at Risk?”, 16 Οκτωβρίου The October 2017 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) finds that the global financial system continues to strengthen in response to extraordinary policy support, regulatory enhancements, and the cyclical upturn in growth. Global bank balance sheets are stronger because of improved capital and liquidity buffers, amid tighter regulation and heightened market scrutiny. However, some banks are still …Read More

Vitor Gaspar,Mercedes Garcia-Escribano, (2017), “Inequality: Fiscal Policy Can Make the Difference”, IMF BLOG, 11 October Income inequality among people around the world has been declining in recent decades. This is due to countries like China and India’s incomes catching-up to advanced economies. But the news is not all good. Inequality within countries has increased, particularly in advanced economies. Since the global economic recovery has gained pace and is now widespread, policymakers have …Read More

John Ryan, (2017), “What a Jamaica coalition could mean for Eurozone reform”, LSE EUROPP, 13 October Negotiations are continuing between German parties over the formation of the country’s next government. While there has been speculation that talks could drag on as late as next year, the most likely outcome remains a ‘Jamaica coalition’ between Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU, the liberal FDP, and the Greens. John Ryan outlines why a Jamaica coalition could make …Read More

Daphne Ahrendt, (2017), “More Attention Must Be Given To Europe’s Working Poor” , Social Europe, 12 October In-work poverty increased during the economic and financial crisis that hit European shores in 2008. By 2014, ten per cent of European workers were at risk of poverty, up from eight per cent in 2007. Ten per cent is a significant figure: the working poor represent a substantial group that can’t be ignored. Just as …Read More

Daniel Gros, (2017), “Europe’s Return to Crisis?”, Project Syndicate,  11 October The European Union – which relies on the nation-state not just for the implementation of its policies, but also for its own legitimacy – can function only as well as its member states. And, today, those member states, including but not limited to Spain, are severely weakened by internal strife. ΒRUSSELS – Just four months ago, when the Europhile Emmanuel …Read More

Richard Baldwin, Thomas Huertas, Tessa Ogden, (2017) “Ten years after the crisis: Looking back, looking forward”, VΟΧ, 13 October A decade on from the Global Crisis, consensus on policy responses is finally emerging as the narrative of the event takes shape. The conference, “Ten years after the crisis: Looking back, looking forward”, organised by CEPR in collaboration with the Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis and hosted by EY, took …Read More

Weisbrot, Mark, (2017), “The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook in Theory and Practice”, Huffpost, 10 October The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its bi-annual “World Economic Outlook”(WEO) today, presenting a 300-page overview of the world economy and where it might be going. The Fund is one of the most powerful and influential financial institutions in the world. Despite the fact that this flagship publication, and the Fund’s hundreds of Ph.D. …Read More

Hüttl, Pia, Pichler, David, (2017), “An update: sovereign bond holdings in the euro area – the impact of quantitative easing”, Bruegel, 10 October Since the European Central Bank’s announcement in January 2015 of its quantitative easing programme, national central banks have been buying government and national agency bonds. In this post we look at the effect of QE on sectoral holdings of government bonds, updating calculations that we published initially …Read More

Bershidsky, Leonid, (2017), “Schaeuble Leaves, But His Ideas Are Here to Stay”, Bloomberg View, 10 October Wolfgang Schaeuble was the euro zone’s longest-serving finance minister until the realities of German coalition-building sent him to the parliament speaker’s post last month. His legacy, laid out in a recent interview and a leaked document, should be taken seriously. Even without him, Germany will continue to hold back support for sweeping reforms of …Read More