The OMFIF Podcast

Fed talk: The ample reserves framework and dynamism of the US labour market

Joe Gagnon, senior research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former director at the Federal Reserve Board, joins Pierre Ortlieb, economist at OMFIF, to discuss the late January Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the state of the Fed’s toolkit. Their conversation covers topics including the ample reserves framework, the dynamism of the US labour market, and prospects for future rounds of quantitative easing.

Items referenced:

Central bank policy sets the lower bound on bond yields

Joe Gagnon’s latest paper with Olivier Jeanne explains why bond yields cannot go below any lower bound on short-term yields set by the central bank, no matter how much QE is used.

What have we learned about central bank balance sheets and monetary policy?

This paper, published by Cato journal, raises the possibility and proposed ground rules for helicopter money, or monetary-fiscal coordination, in the US.

Are Central Banks Out of Ammunition to Fight a Recession? Not Quite.

Joe Gagnon’s recent paper with Chris Collins quantifies how much ammunition the big three central banks – the Fed, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan – have left.

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Synopsis: Fallout from the Fed's repo firefighting, prospects for Trump's re-election, and five scenarios for Brexit

In this episode of Synopsis, OMFIF's weekly roundup of news and analysis, Subeditor Julie Levy-Abegnoli looks back over the most recent articles published on the OMFIF website, including those on the Fed's repo firefighting and how Brexit could play out. To receive our newsletters, visit https://thinktank.omfif.org/subscribe.

Articles and other items referenced:

1. Fed faces repo firefighting fallout
2. US economy may derail Trump 2020 victory
3. 2020s will test leaders' conviction
4. Five scenarios for Brexit
5. Watershed for Europe and the world
6. OMFIF 10th anniversary
7. Central banking in 2020: Risks abound in year to come
8. Sustainable investment in uncertain times: The future of public sector asset management
9. Japan's economy: challenges and prospects

Music: Hey Mercy by Pierce Murphy is licensed under an Attribution License.

Post-crisis US financial regulation: Are we moving towards risk sensitivity?

It has been almost 10 years since the 2008 financial crisis and the enactment of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street reform and consumer protection act. Daniel Tarullo, who was responsible for leading the Federal Reserve Board on financial regulatory reform, including implementing of the Dodd-Frank act, joins Mark Sobel, US chairman at OMFIF, to assess the state of the US banking system. They discuss whether the system is weakening with ‘quiet deregulation,’ concerns over shadow banking and potential regulatory capture, and the need to double down on macroprudential policy in search of high yield in a low interest rate environment.

 

Daniel Tarullo is a professor of practice at Harvard Law School who served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee (2009-17). He was also the Federal Reserve’s representative to the international Financial Stability Board, including four years as chair of its committee on supervision and regulation.

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Synopsis: Superpowers posturing in the Gulf, the US Treasury's odd currency monitoring list, and green bonds break out of the niche

In this episode of Synopsis, OMFIF's weekly roundup of news and analysis, Subeditor Julie Levy-Abegnoli looks back over the most recent articles published on the OMFIF website, including those on US disinterest in Hormuz crippling Iran, the Hungarian central bank's new green bond portfolio, and how the US Treasury could rework its currency monitoring list. To receive our newsletters, visit https://www.omfif.org/subscribe/

Articles and other items referenced:

1. Superpowers posturing in volatile Gulf
2. Green bonds dispel ‘niche market’ status
3. US currency monitoring list needs rethink
4. The Bulletin: Eurovision
5. Supporting growth in the global economy: The future of infrastructure finance

Music: Hey Mercy by Pierce Murphy is licensed under an Attribution License.

Ahead of the ECB: Continuity or change for the bank's toolbox

Francesco Papadia, senior fellow at Bruegel and former director general for market operations at the European Central Bank, joins Marcin Stepan, head of programming at OMFIF, to discuss expectations for the ECB’s monetary policy decision on 23 January. They talk about the euro area’s macroeconomic outlook, the strategic review of ECB monetary policy, potential changes to the central bank’s objectives and instruments, and how policy-makers can help combat climate change.

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Synopsis: Why the ECB should keep its monetary pillar, 2020 predictions, and more

In this episode of Synopsis, OMFIF's weekly roundup of news and analysis, Senior Editor Julian Frazer and Subeditor Julie Levy-Abegnoli look back over the most recent articles published on the OMFIF website, including those on the European Central Bank's strategic review and predictions for 2020. They also share some of the topics OMFIF will be covering this year. To receive our newsletters, visit https://thinktank.omfif.org/subscribe.

Articles and other items referenced:

1. ECB must keep its monetary pillar
2. From new normal to new mediocrity
3. 2020s will test leaders' conviction
4. Navigating economic uncertainty: Outlook for Chile and Latin America
5. Economic stability in Italy and across Europe

Music: Hey Mercy by Pierce Murphy is licensed under an Attribution License.

Gold and the future of the global reserve currency system

Michael Kitson, assistant director of the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge, and Tatiana Fic, director of central banks and public policy at the World Gold Council, join Pierre Ortlieb, economist at OMFIF,  to discuss the state of the gold market and the internationalisation of the renminbi. They talk about the long-term future of the global reserve currency system, the political economy of capital account liberalisation, and the drivers behind central bank demand for gold.

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Impact investing: Promoting a universal standard

The appetite for impact investing is growing. But in the past, the financial industry has lacked common standards for monitoring and measuring impact investments. This has affected the ability to identify good investment practices, avoid ‘green washing,’ and enable comparability across projects.

Neil Gregory, chief thought leadership officer at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank and the largest global development bank focused on the private sector in emerging markets, joins Katie-Ann Wilson, programmes manager for emerging markets at OMFIF, to discuss impact investing. They outline how the Operating Principles for Impact Management aims to address the bottlenecks in the market, the market size, what distinguishes impact investing from other forms of sustainable finance and the converging of impact investing measurement tools.

For more information on signing up to the Operating Principles for Impact Management, click here.

The IFC's report on impact investing is available here.

 

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Andrew Adonis on the UK election and Brexit: ‘Watch the policy, not the rhetoric.’

Andrew Adonis, Labour peer in the House of Lords and cabinet minister between 2005-10 under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, speaks to OMFIF Chairman David Marsh. They discuss whether the result of the UK general election was inevitable, the issue of ‘uniting your party’, and the future of Labour. They address how Boris Johnson will try to unite the North and South of England, trade negotiations with the European Union, and the prime minister’s new-found freedom from Brexit hardliners.

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Fed Talk: Rates remain on hold

In its December decision, the Federal Open Market Committee kept interest rates on hold. This was a widely expected move after three rate cuts earlier this year. Beyond the rate decision, people were most interested in the tone of the statement issued and whether the outlook for 2020 will be dovish, hawkish or neutral. Daniel Tenengauzer, head of markets strategy and insights at Bank of New York Mellon, joins Mark Sobel, US chairman of OMFIF, to discuss the rate decision and prospects for 2020.

 

Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music