SNB preview March 2023: A question of confidence
In line with most other major central banks, the SNB had been expected to extend its tightening cycle this week. Having last raised its policy rate by 50 basis points to 1.0 percent in December, [...]
March 2023
March BoE MPC Preview: Banking worries complicate an already difficult decision
The March BoE MPC meeting had been widely expected to deliver an eleventh successive increase in Bank Rate with the majority of forecasters looking for a 25 basis point hike in the benchmark rate to [...]
High points for economic data scheduled for March 20 week
There is little doubt that the coming will be tightly focused on the FOMC meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The release of the meeting statement at 14:00 ET on Wednesday will settle speculation about whether [...]
March ECB meeting preview: A focus on forward guidance
In terms of policy, Thursday’s announcement should be something of a damp squib. Although supposedly no longer offering forward guidance, the February statement made it clear that the ECB intends to raise its key interest [...]
High points for economic data scheduled for March 13 week
Note: The following was written before the news of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). This is the sort of exogenous event that throws the near-term outlook for monetary policy into uncertainty. The question [...]
Preview of Powell’s semiannual monetary policy testimony
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver the semiannual monetary policy testimony – by old habit often called the Humphrey-Hawkins testimony – at 10:00 EST on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee and on [...]
High points for economic data scheduled for March 6 week
A lot of the focus in the March 6 week will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the semiannual monetary policy testimony. He will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday at 10:00 [...]
February 2023
High points for economic data scheduled for February 27 week
While the week beginning February 27 includes the first Friday of the month on March 3, that day isn’t an Employment Friday. The employment situation for February won’t be released until Friday, March 10. The [...]
High points for US data scheduled for February 20 week
The February 20 week is shortened by the Presidents Day observance on Monday. Stock and bond markets will be closed in the US.At this writing the dates of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s semiannual monetary policy [...]
Fed Vice Chair Brainard to be Biden’s top economic advisor
Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard is leaving the Board of Governors as of February 20. After that, she will be joining the Biden Administration’s National Economic Council as Director. This makes her the top economic [...]