Tight monetary policy implies the Central Bank is trying to reduce the demand for money and limit the pace of economic expansion. A tightening of monetary policy, could involve an increase in interest rates. – Higher interest rates increase the cost of borrowing and discourage investment and consumer spending. A tightening of monetary policy would …
Forward guidance is when the Central Bank announces to markets that it intends to keep interest rates at a certain level until a fixed point in the future. The aim of forward guidance is to influence long term interest rates and market expectations. For example, the Central Bank might want to boost economic activity by …
Readers Question: From the current economic crises government has been slashing its base interest rates to now 2%. However, how would deflation which is currently being experienced in several countries mainly due to decreasing fuel prices affect the attempted recovery from this crisis? Deflation makes monetary policy much less effective. In fact, deflation can cause …
Things We Get Wrong About the EconomyWatch this video on YouTube The Government doesn’t actually print that much money The Bank of England is notionally independent, but heavily regulated by the government. Have you ever wondered how much physical cash the Bank of England printed last year? The net amount of notes in circulation increased …
Last week, for the first time in history, Moody downgraded the credit rating of US debt, it has sparked long-term bond yields to rise to levels last seen in 2008. Moody’s predicts that the US deficit will rise to 9% of GDP by 2035. This is really unprecedented for peace time. The forecast assumes no …
Will Printing Money and QE cause Runaway Inflation?Watch this video on YouTube After the First World War, the German government were left with huge debts and reparation payments to the Allies. Faced with striking workers the government began printing money to pay workers higher salaries. It gave the government a temporary breathing space, …
US Debt is Set to Massively INCREASE – Does it Matter?Watch this video on YouTube As a share of GDP, US debt is forecast to rise from the current level of 100% of GDP towards 180% by 2050. This is unprecedented – higher than the second world war. However, the recent budget resolution to …
Reader’s Question: Why does printing money cause inflation? Does this always occur? Summary If the money supply increases faster than output then, ceteris paribus, inflation will occur. If a government prints extra money, households will have more cash and more money to spend on goods. But, if the amount of goods stays the same, the …