Tag Archives: rates

When Are Asset Purchases QE?

Much ballyhoo has been made about the Fed’s recent intervention in the repo market. If these actions indeed signalled a return to QE as some have alleged, this would represent a dramatic change of course and redefine the current market … Continue reading

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Markets Ignore Shift in Investment Paradigm at Their Own Peril

Despite the market ructions witnessed in February, nothing seems to deter investors for long. A strong cyclical backdrop and robust earnings growth seem to forever ratify the prevailing ‘Buy the Dip’ mentality. Yet, take a step back and you can … Continue reading

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What Happened in February? Is It the Start of Something New? And Where Will It All End?

Markets reacted strongly to what was possibly a fluke in the data in February. The sharp rise in volatility exaggerated the true significance of the sell-off. As the dust settles it becomes ever clearer that the “correction” was none at … Continue reading

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Another Year of MOTS and FOMO?

(first published January 14) 2017 was a stellar year for asset markets: simply being long risk was sufficient to achieve strong returns. For 2018, market participants are optimistic on the back of expectations of above-trend global growth and broadly ac-commodative monetary … Continue reading

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Why the Fed Balance Sheet Reduction Won’t Affect the Economy – And Why It Will

Quantitative Tightening, as envisaged by the Fed, implies an equivalent, and ultimately sizeable, reduction of bank reserves on the liability side of the Fed’s balance sheet.  However, changes in monetary aggregates have little impact on the real economy or inflation. … Continue reading

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The BoJ’s New Monetary Experiment: Riddled with Inconsistencies

Adding to its already wide-ranging arsenal of of monetary policy tools, the BoJ last week introduced yet another feature: “QQE with yield curve control”. In addition to the short term rate, the new regime aims to peg the long term interest rate … Continue reading

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A Bad Idea Returns: Negative Deposit Rates

As ECB policy rates skirt the zero bound, expectations for the use of alternative tools, such as negative deposit rates are again on the rise. However, this is  an ineffective and potentially harmful policy option. Several problems may arise: transmission across other … Continue reading

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Fed: Still Easing After All These Years – Interpretation & Asset Implications

In its new round of quantitative easing, the Fed’s operations are now open-ended, unlike in previous instances. What is more, in what could mark a turning point in its approach to monetary policy, it signaled that its loose stance might … Continue reading

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