October 15, 2019
Jean Boivin, managing director and head of global research at the Blackrock Investment Institute, joins OMFIF’s Mark Sobel to discuss the limits of conventional and unconventional monetary policy tools, and the prospect for closer co-operation between monetary and fiscal policy. They touch upon the adverse impact of long-term low interest rates, the creation of an emergency fiscal facility and the potential risk to central bank independence.
Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
October 9, 2019
Kurtulus Taskale Diamondopoulos, director of central banks and public policy at the World Gold Council, joins Pierre Ortlieb, economist at OMFIF, to examine recent trends in global gold demand, the role of the official sector and prospects for central bank reserve asset portfolios. Gold is rising to a prominence not seen since the turn of the millennium, driven by an increasingly tense and fragmented international system, as well as unprecedented developments in capital markets.
For the World Gold Council survey of central banks mentioned in the podcast, please click here
For the most recent OMFIF report on gold, multilateral institutions, and the global reserve currency system, please click here
Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
October 1, 2019
The Federal Reserve cut the fed funds rate by 25 basis points following intense discussion between divided Federal Open Market Committee members. The outlook for the US economy is mixed –unemployment is low and consumption solid, though concerns remain about a slowdown in manufacturing and the negative effects on investment of trade tensions. Mark Sobel, US chairman of OMFIF, is joined by Don Kohn, member of the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee and member of the Fed board of governors between 2002-10, and Bill Papadakis, macro strategist at Banque Lombard Odier & Sie, to discuss the Fed decision and the outlook for the US economy and monetary policy.
Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
September 27, 2019
In this episode of Synopsis, OMFIF's weekly roundup of news and analysis, Senior Editor Julian Frazer looks back over the most recent articles published on the OMFIF website, including those on Christine Lagarde as she prepares to take up the European Central Bank presidency, troubles at the Reserve Bank of India, and Boris Johnson's special adviser Dominic Cummings. All that, and more besides, coming up next. To receive our newsletters,visit https://thinktank.omfif.org/subscribe.
Articles and other items referenced:
- Lagarde's challenge over ECB revolt
- RBI's waning independence
- A Spad with influence
- Brian McMahon on public pensions
- Scaling up sustainable infrastructure, Singapore
- Peter Praet on ECB policy in New York
- Fighting climate change-related risks with the ADBI in Tokyo
- Lori Rennison of the Bank of Canada in London
Music: Hey Mercy by Pierce Murphy is licensed under an Attribution License.
September 24, 2019
Brian McMahon, BNY Mellon’s senior alternative investment services business development executive in Luxembourg, joins OMFIF Economist Pierre Ortlieb to discuss the shifting nature of public pensions, their changing asset allocations and potential of private markets. The broad-based ‘retailisation’ of private asset classes remains a firm, albeit elusive, goal. The returns they promise are appealing to pension investors across the globe, but costs and valuation issues, among other things, remain significant obstacles.
Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
September 17, 2019
Willem Buiter, special economic adviser at Citi, joins OMFIF’s Ellie Groves to discuss challenges facing the euro area. They assess the implications of a euro area slowdown at a time of high public debt, the role of the US-China trade conflict and the probability of a global recession for advanced economies. They also discuss the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement, whether monetary policy tools have run their course, and the politics of fiscal stimulus.
