Europe's third wave woes
The European Commission is calling for tougher controls on vaccine exports, as the bloc struggles with a third wave of the virus and criticism over its handling of the vaccine rollout. The vaccination...
24 Mar 202114min
Money for Nothing
President Joe Biden says his $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue plan, for the first time, prioritises working- and middle-class Americans. But US household wealth has surged throughout the pandemic, with i...
18 Mar 202111min
ECB steps up stimulus but is it enough?
The European Central Bank is stepping up the pace of asset purchases in response to rising bonds yields, which have threatened to undermine the eurozone’s economic recovery. German bund yields rose to...
11 Mar 202112min
Dear Prudence
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is going where few finance ministers have gone before in the Covid-19 pandemic, announcing future tax hikes to pay for relief measures. Those measures, which were extended in...
3 Mar 202114min
Gauging the ‘taper tantrum’ fallout
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent a message to nervous bond markets this week: calm down. But are traders and investors listening? 10-year Treasury yields have continued their march higher o...
24 Feb 20219min
The rise and fall of voluntary social distancing
In economic terms, the second wave of the pandemic in Europe has been less severe than the first. Official lockdowns have been less harsh and more targeted, according to EU Economic Commissioner Paolo...
18 Feb 20219min
Inflation Blues
It gave B.B. King the blues. And Larry Summers is getting worried about it, too. Inflation in the US is set to rise in the coming months, fuelled by an economic reawakening and massive fiscal stimulus...
10 Feb 202113min
Emerging markets' vaccine challenge
The World Health Organization says vaccine hoarding would be a catastrophic moral failure that would keep the pandemic burning and result in a very slow global economic recovery. Yet many emerging mar...
4 Feb 202112min
