Archive

Lagarde - Unlocking the power of ideas

Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at Yale University in New Haven, USA

In her speech at Yale University, Christine Lagarde discusses the importance of generating and sharing new ideas for economic growth, particularly in the changing global economy. Lagarde emphasizes the need to break bottlenecks in three areas: translation of ideas into marketable projects, diffusion of innovations, and ambition to drive proactive leadership. She highlights the challenges faced by Europe in terms of financial systems, access to risk capital, trade frictions, and underutilization of internal scale. Lagarde calls for concrete actions to address these bottlenecks and asserts that Europe has the ambition and support needed to succeed.


Positivity: 85
Uncertainty: 45

Benjamin - Not-so-private questions

The private equity market has grown in size, complexity and interconnectedness. Nat Benjamin steps through the vital role it plays in financing companies, describes recent developments, and asks questions about the impact of dynamics in that sector on safe and sustainable growth

In this speech, Nathanaël Benjamin discusses the role of private equity and the concerns surrounding its developments in the financial system. He highlights the importance of ensuring safe and sustainable financing practices for economic stability and growth. Benjamin emphasizes the opacity and complexity of the private equity sector, which makes assessing its developments and potential risks challenging. He raises concerns about the impact of private equity dynamics on systemic institutions, markets, and the provision of funding. Benjamin acknowledges the positive aspects of private equity, such as diversifying sources of financing, but emphasizes the need for it to grow in a safe and sustainable manner. The Bank of England's role in monitoring and responding to these risks is highlighted, with a focus on financial stability and sustainable growth.


Positivity Score: 60
Uncertainty Score: 70

BoE Review: Uncomfortable Guidance

• Ben Bernanke’s review of forecasting at the Bank of England raised many suggestions. We hope the BoE doesn’t dodge two aspects critical to improving its guidance.
• Inflation expectations are poorly captured in forecasts, contributing to misguided market views and leaving MPC members open to attack when critiquing surging wages.
• MPC rate expectations would best replace the conditioning rate path. Absent that, market rates are better than alternatives so that path should not be de-emphasised.

By Philip Rush

Note: This is part of an external compendium of responses to the Bernanke review.

Japan CPI 2.7% y-o-y (consensus 2.7%) in Mar-24

- Japan's CPI inflation slowed by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7% year-on-year in March 2024, as expected.
- There was some downside news as core inflation slowed by a tenth further than the consensus forecast to reach 2.6%.