Stalling recovery would be the greatest risk facing the #eurozone 's #economy , according to #MarioDraghi , underscoring, before an important policy decision next week, the #ECB 's focus on supporting growth. The ECB is due to decide next week on whether to extend beyond March its 1.74-trillion-euro (1.48 trillion pounds) bond-buying programme, the centrepiece of its much-criticised stimulus policy, that some say has created bond and property price bubbles and should be wound down.

Mario Draghi's comments, in response to a question from an EU parliamentary committee about the risks to financial stability from ultra-easy monetary policy, suggest the ECB remains firmly focussed on stimulating growth.

#GlobalEconomy #EuropeanEconomy #EconomicOutlook #EconomicPolicy #EconomicStimulus
Growth stalling would be biggest risk to Europe's economy - ECB's Draghi
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecb-policy-draghi-idUKKBN13N21A

The #ECB stuck to its ultra-easy policy stance as inflation continues to undershoot its target but explicitly acknowledged the vigor of the #eurozone economy, now on its best run since the global financial crisis. Despite calls from #Germany, the euro zone's economic powerhouse, for a gradual reduction of stimulus, the ECB even left the door open to further rates cuts or an increase in asset buys.

Euro zone economic growth is steadily picking up pace and the risks to the survival of the single currency are receding after pro-euro centrist Emmanuel Macron won the first round of France's presidential vote. Having missed its 2% #inflation target for years and even flirted with deflation, the ECB confirmed it would buy 60bn euros worth of bonds per month at least until the end of the year and keep interest rates in negative territory until later. With its policy arsenal nearly depleted and inflation now comfortably above 1%, policymakers from Germany and other northern euro zone countries are calling for mapping out the way to the exit.


#GlobalEconomy #EuropeanEconomy #EconomicRisk #EconomicGrowth #EconomicOutlook #EconomicStimulus #Economy
ECB nods to euro zone recovery but keeps money taps wide open
http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ecb-policy-idUKKBN17S31B

Donald #Trump will be able to start on some of his campaign promises through executive orders, while others will require Congressional approval. A number of American industries will be strongly impacted in the next 2 years. Even if the direction of change proves beneficial in the long run, short-run change and uncertainty will reduce capital spending and employment in these sectors.

Trump promised to cut top #tax rates and eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, plus some other changes. Changing tax law will require approval of both houses of Congress, and Senate Democrats won’t go along with this. Some Republicans will object over increased deficits. Trump’s tax plan will increase the deficit by one trillion dollars over ten years under very optimistic estimates of stimulative effects of the lower tax rates.

#GlobalEconomy #EconomicOutlook #EconomicStimulus #Economy #USEconomy #EconomicForecast #UnitedStates
President Trump's Policies Will Likely Slow #EconomicGrowth Over The Next Two Years
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2016/11/11/trump-congress-executive-authority-and-the-economic-forecast/

Over more than 300 years, the power of #centralbanks has ebbed and flowed as governments have by turns enhanced and restricted their responsibilities in response to economic necessity and intellectual fashion. Governments have asked central banks to pursue several goals at once: stabilising currencies; fighting inflation; safeguarding the financial system; co-ordinating policy with other countries; and reviving economies.

These goals are complex and not always complementary; it makes sense to put experts in charge. That said, the actions needed to attain them have political consequences, dragging central banks into the democratic debate. In the early decades after American independence, two central banks were founded and folded before the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. Central banks’ part in the Depression of the 1930s, the inflationary era of the 1960s and 1970s and the credit bubble in the early 2000s all came under attack.


#GlobalEconomy #Politics #EconomicRisk #EconomicGrowth #EconomicOutlook #EconomicStimulus #Economy
The history of central banks
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21721354-contemporary-criticisms-central-banks-echo-debates-times-past-history-central

The #BOJ adopted its latest unconventional #monetarypolicy because it had already bought up most of the JGBs on the market. It is impossible to continue buying JGBs at a pace of 80 trillion yen a year forever. On the flip side, fewer transactions make for a smaller market and less difficulty for the bank to control #interestrates. The bank shifted its policy focus from quantity to interest rates so that it can maintain its easing policy for a long time to come.

It has been 3 and a half years since the BOJ introduced its ultra-aggressive quantitative and #qualitativeeasing program. Yet it has been unable to get prices increasing at a 2% clip. Still, Kuroda seems more committed than ever to support Prime Minister #ShinzoAbe's growth policies - even after April 2018, when Kuroda's term is to end.

#WorldEconomy #Japan #JapaneseEconomy #EconomicOutlook #EconomicGrowth #Economy #EconomicStimulus
Does current BOJ policy violate 'invisible hand?'
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Does-current-BOJ-policy-violate-invisible-hand

The man in charge of the #EuropeanCentralBank's 2.5tn euros ($2.9tn) stimulus program hopes it will not be extended again when it expires in September. Benoit Coeure, who heads the #ECB's market operations, also said the money-printing scheme will continue until inflation "clearly moves" towards the central bank's objective of just under 2%. The ECB announced on Thursday (Oct 26) the #quantitativeeasing (QE) scheme would be extended until September 2018, with its President Mario Draghi - of whom Coeure was long considered a key ally - making clear its eventual duration remained open-ended.


#WorldEconomy #EuropeanEconomy #EconomicOutlook #EuropeanUnion #Economy #EconomicStimulus
ECB's Coeure hopes bond-buying won't be extended again: paper
https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/ecbs-coeure-hopes-bondbuying-wont-be-extended-again-paper-549710

Bank of Japan Governor #HaruhikoKuroda said there is 'no reason' to raise the bank's bond yield targets now with inflation so far from its 2% target, offering his strongest denial to date of the chance of withdrawing its massive stimulus any time soon.

The former top Japanese currency diplomat also played down the risk that President Donald Trump's administration will lean toward excessive #protectionism since the global community, including the #UnitedStates, benefits from free trade. While #Japan's economy was slowly recovering, it still lacked enough momentum to quickly boost inflation to the BOJ's target, Kuroda said, adding that risks to both the growth and price outlooks were skewed to the downside.


#WorldEconomy #JapaneseEconomy #AsianEconomies #EconomicPolicy #Economy #EconomicGrowth #EconomicStimulus
BOJ chief Kuroda says 'no reason' to withdraw stimulus now
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-boj-kuroda-reuters-idUSKBN16V036

#Inflation surged and growth continued to accelerate in the #eurozone, a plethora of indicators showed on Friday, keeping pressure on the #ECB to start dialling back its lavish stimulus measures as early as June. Underlying inflation - the price indicator most watched by the ECB - blew past expectations to hit a three-year high.

The ECB kept its ultra-easy policy stance steady on Thursday (Apr 27), even leaving the door open to more easing, arguing that underlying inflation is not showing any signs of a convincing upward trend, raising the risk that a premature exit would unravel its work. While markets expect the ECB to tone down its language in June, removing its bias for further easing, ECB President Mario Draghi gave no hint of such moves on Thursday, only venturing to say that economic risks have receded.


#GlobalEconomy #EuropeanEconomy #EconomicRisk #EconomicGrowth #EconomicOutlook #EconomicStimulus #Economy
Inflation surge to keep pressure on ECB to cut stimulus
http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/28/inflation-surge-to-keep-pressure-on-ecb-to-cut-stimulus