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☆ 'We should not wait a decade to have transition plans,' former BOE governor says on climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'We should not wait a decade to have transition plans,' former BOE governor says on climate changeMark Carney, U.N. special envoy for climate action and former Bank of England governor, tells CNBC's Dan Murphy about energy transition plans at COP28.

Persons: BOE, Mark Carney, U.N, CNBC's Dan Murphy Organizations: Bank of England Locations: COP28

☆ UK's next government will find tax rises hard to avoid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But tax rises will be very hard to avoid for whichever party forms the next government, says James Smith, a former Bank of England economist who is research director at the Resolution Foundation, which focuses on issues affecting low and middle earners. For earlier governments, the main way to increase tax levels has been to raise the rate of national insurance - a payroll tax paid by employers and employees - and, in the Conservatives' case, higher value-added tax. Annual GDP growth averaged 2.0% from 2010-2019, compared with 3.0% from 1997-2007. Asked on Sunday about widespread reports of looming tax cuts, Hunt told Sky News: "Everything is on the table ... Higher-than-expected inflation has boosted tax revenue and overall GDP in cash terms, giving more leeway against fiscal targets as most public services' spending budgets are fixed.

Persons: Susannah Ireland, Jeremy Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, James Smith, Smith, Britain's, It's, Carl Emmerson, Hunt, Foundation's Smith, David Milliken, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Labour Party, Bank of England, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, Britain, Conservatives, Fiscal Studies, Foundation, Reuters, Monetary Fund, Institute for Government, Sky News, British, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Ukraine

☆ COP28’s big challenge: green cash for poor states
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Rather than drawing attention to this paucity of ambition, al-Jaber wants states to commit to trebling global capacity of renewable energy by 2030. Progress in China and the West is largely a function of cash: these regions accounted for 84% of the $1.3 trillion committed to global climate finance in 2022. They calculate that by 2030, developing countries need to invest around $2.4 trillion a year in order to decarbonise their economies. The problem is that the developed world has consistently missed targets to channel climate cash to less developed counterparts. In September al-Jaber announced a $4.5 billion scheme to deploy UAE state cash and private sector resources to help Africa decarbonise.

Persons: al, Jaber, hasn’t, Nicholas Stern, Stern, Ajay Banga, Mark Carney, Shriti Vadera, Larry Fink, Joko Widodo, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, Nahyan, Breakingviews, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, United, Conference of, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, United Nations, International Energy Agency, The, IEA, World Bank, concessional, Bank, Bank of England, Prudential, BlackRock, U.S, Indonesian, Africa decarbonise, UAE Crown, Thomson Locations: United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Paris, China, The U.S, British, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, Vietnam, U.S, Al, UAE, Africa, COP28, Dubai

☆ ‘Argentina on the Channel.’ Mark Carney and Liz Truss clash over UK economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —When Liz Truss was briefly Britain’s prime minister a year ago, the world’s sixth-largest economy came close to resembling Argentina, a country plagued by financial and economic instability. Truss and her Brexit-backing allies have long argued that lower taxes and fewer regulations — akin to Singapore’s approach — would help kickstart sorely needed growth in the UK. Britain, for its part, is battling stubbornly high inflation, feeble economic growth and a rising public debt burden, which is the costliest to service among rich economies. At the time, Carney, who was head of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, accused Truss’s government of “undercutting” the nation’s economic institutions. “Mark Carney is part of the 25-year economic consensus that has led to low growth across the Western world,” she said.

Persons: Liz Truss, Mark Carney, kickstart, Carney, “, Kwasi Kwarteng, Truss’s, undercutting, “ Mark Carney, ”, ” Truss, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Bank of England, Institute for Government Locations: Argentina, United Kingdom, Montreal, Singapore, London

☆ Bloomberg LP names Vlad Kliatchko CEO in top level overhaul - The Information
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg speaks during a meeting with Earthshot prize winners and finalists at the Glasgow Science Center during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 2, 2021. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 21 (Reuters) - Bloomberg LP is replacing CEO Michael Bloomberg with product head Vlad Kliatchko and appointing former Bank of England governor Mark Carney as its chair in a management shake-up, the Information reported on Monday, citing an internal memo. New members will be appointed to the board and existing members will become emeritus, according to the report. Thomson Reuters-owned Reuters News competes with Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: New York Michael Bloomberg, Alastair Grant, Michael Bloomberg, Vlad Kliatchko, Mark Carney, JP Zammitt, Patti Roskill, Thomson, Bloomberg L.P, Yuvraj Malik, Arun Koyyur Organizations: New York, Glasgow Science Center, Change, Bloomberg, Bank of England, Thomson Reuters, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, Bengaluru

He called the U.S. central bank's misreading of the issue "a major failure" that can mar analysis of where the economy stands. Since 2016, policies from the vastly different Trump and Biden administrations have combined in a sort of accidental complementarity to keep both job and economic growth above the Fed's estimate of potential. Median Fed policymaker projections of potential U.S. economic growth have slid from a level around 2.5% a decade ago to 1.8% as of June 2023, when the last projections were issued. Under pressure from colleagues to raise interest rates as the economy accelerated, Greenspan resisted and accommodated the expansion instead of fighting it. But it could help economic growth continue even as prices cool, another prop for the "soft landing" the Fed hopes to engineer and possible evidence of rising potential.

Persons: John Williams, Joe Biden, Adam Posen, Donald Trump, Trump's, Biden, Dana Peterson, Peterson, Jerome Powell, Board's Peterson, Alan Greenspan's, Greenspan, Jackson, John Fernald, Huiyu Li, Michael Feroli, Antulio Bomfim, Powell, Howard Schneider, Paul Simao Organizations: Federal Reserve, New York Fed, San Francisco, Fed, Reuters, BlackRock, Bank of England, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Trump, Biden, Conference Board, Jackson, San Francisco Fed, JPMorgan, Trust Asset Management, Thomson Locations: U.S, Jackson Hole , Wyoming, Washington

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationORLANDO, Florida, July 26 (Reuters) - Remember the U.S. twin deficits? The dollar did fall - around 40% between the dotcom bust and the global financial crisis - and the twin deficits were a factor. Indeed, when the twin deficits really exploded in 2008 as the government and Fed fought to prevent another Great Depression, the dollar actually rose 25%. "Twin deficits are inherently unsustainable – for Treasuries and the dollar - unless there is a shift towards a deflationary environment that stimulates demand for sovereign debt instruments," Costa said. Persistently wide twin deficits will test the appetite to use the dollar as the savings currency of choice for investors and countries around the world.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Carney, Tavi, Costa, Meera Chandan, Octavia Popescu, Bill, Jamie McGeever, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Fed, Reuters, Bank of England, Crescat, Treasuries, United, Office, Thomson Locations: ORLANDO , Florida, U.S, Britain, United States, Americas, Washington

☆ Britain is facing a mortgage crisis. There are no easy answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Mortgage painThe announcement comes a day after the Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point to help bring down stubborn inflation. More than 2 million UK mortgage holders paying a fixed interest rate are facing an increase of hundreds of pounds in monthly repayments when they are forced to refinance this year and next. Many borrowers bought their homes when mortgage rates were closer to 1% or 2%. That sets the country apart from other major economies, including the United States, where on both measures inflation has started to ease. After the latest rise in interest rates Thursday, Hunt said the government would “stick to [its] guns” on keeping rates high to tame high prices.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Sarah Coles, Hargreaves Lansdown, ”, Matt Hammerstein, David Duffy, Debbie Crosby, James Manning, ” Max Mosley, Jake Berry, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Mark Carney, Charlie Bean, Hunt, ” — Hanna Ziady Organizations: London CNN, UK Treasury, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, BCS, CNN, Bank of England, National Institute of Economic, Social Research, Virgin Money, Conservative Party, Institute for Fiscal Studies, European Union, Bank of, Daily Telegraph, BBC Radio Locations: United Kingdom, United States, Britain

☆ Is the Inflation Battle Won? Not Yet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The reason: While less expensive gas and slower grocery price adjustments have helped overall inflation to fall from its four-decade peak last summer, food and fuel costs tend to jump around a lot. Last week, Fed officials sharply marked up their forecast of how high core inflation would be at the end of 2023. They now see it at 3.9 percent, higher than the 3.6 percent they predicted in March and nearly twice their 2 percent inflation target. “Inflation is somewhat more stubborn than we had hoped.”A fresh Consumer Price Index inflation report last week showed that inflation continued to moderate sharply on an overall basis in May. That measure helps to feed into the Fed’s preferred measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which it uses to define its 2 percent target.

Persons: Biden, ”, Kristin J, Forbes Organizations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bank of England

Not only are his current approval ratings historically low, they are particularly poor given that unemployment is at its lowest in more than half a century. As a result, Biden's approval ratings could reasonably be expected to rise if inflation continues to decline. Reuters analysis suggests presidential approval ratings are rarely below 40% when inflation is 6% or lower. What will have a greater impact on consumers' and voters' well-being - unemployment pain or inflation gain? Some economists say the 'Misery Index', the unemployment rate plus the inflation rate, is a decent proxy for people's happiness and even presidential approval ratings.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Harry Truman's, Joseph Macri, Bahram Adrangi, 3pp, Andy Schneider, Lina El, Robert MacCulloch, Hamed Shafiee, David Blanchflower, Jamie McGeever Organizations: Federal Reserve, Wall, Bank of America, Atlanta, Reuters, Presidents, BNP, Dartmouth College, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: ORLANDO, Florida, U.S, Iraq

☆ British brewers reduce alcohol in beers as inflation bites
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Since, under UK law, brewers pay less tax on drinks with a lower alcohol content, the newspaper claimed that the companies had pocketed this saving rather than passing it onto customers through lower prices. Brewer Greene King has cut the alcohol content of its Old Speckled Hen pale ale to 4.8% from 5%. In January, Dutch brewer Heineken lowered the ABV content of Foster’s larger — which it sells in the UK — to 3.7% from 4%. Consumer price inflation in the UK remains stubbornly high, reaching 8.7% in April. Inflation has fallen back in recent months, but still clocks in higher than in any other country in the Group of Seven.

Persons: ” Greene King, Greene King, Shepherd Neame, Brewer Greene King, Chris Ratcliffe, Emma McClarkin, ” McClarkin, Mark Carney, Brexit, ”, Carney, revel, “ Organizations: London CNN — Brewers, CNN, Sunday, Bloomberg, Heineken, Beer and Pub Association, “ Brewers, Seven, Former Bank of England, Daily Telegraph Locations: United Kingdom, what’s

☆ Securonomics is fuzzy new lodestar for investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Felix Martin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

During the era of free trade and financial liberalisation, the politicians danced to the economists’ tune. President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor explained that the era of unqualified support for free markets is over. The state will explicitly subsidise “specific sectors that are foundational to economic growth (or) strategic from a national security perspective,” Sullivan explained. Internationally, meanwhile, free trade is no longer the pole star. Sullivan’s 5,000-word speech devoted just three sentences to the World Trade Organization.

Persons: Rachel Reeves, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s, ” Sullivan, Jacob Soll, Jean, Baptiste Colbert, Alexander Hamilton, Adam Smith, securonomics, Colbert, Hamilton, Christine Lagarde, Lagarde, ”, Soll, Peter Thal Larsen, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Labour, Bank of England, White, U.S . Treasury, U.S . Trade Representative, Joe Biden’s National, Biden, offshoring, World Trade Organization, Industries, BAE Systems, Dow, Aerospace, Defense, U.S, Treasury, University of Southern, European Central Bank, Soviet, Russia, Thomson Locations: Washington, Tellingly, States, French, Scottish, University of Southern California, China, United States, Europe, Saudi Arabia

But as some argue, in its quest to avoid another taper tantrum, the Fed delayed that two-pronged tightening too long, which has partly contributed to the stickiness of inflation today. This lengthy buildup may have averted another taper tantrum, but tied the Fed's hands on raising rates even as inflation was roaring back. Markets thought this not only meant the Fed would soon "taper" its bond purchases, but also raise interest rates. The Fed and markets have learned their lessons from the taper tantrum. Maybe the taper tantrum illustrates that it wasn't as planned and consistent as it should have been," he said.

☆ VC firms create $60 billion-plus climate tech alliance with backing from the UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A group of venture capital firms including Tiger Global and Union Square Ventures on Tuesday set up an alliance aimed at making private tech investing more climate-friendly. Called the Venture Climate Alliance (VCA), the coalition of more than 20 climate tech and generalist funds seeks to get the VC industry to increase its commitments to climate tech, a branch of technology devoted to finding solutions to the climate crisis. Generalist VC firms will need to make routine assessments of their carbon footprint, align their early-stage startup bets with net-zero goals. It is not the first initiative to bring climate's role in startup investing to the forefront. The alliance will fall under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), a group formed during the COP26 climate conference.

Low and stable inflation is good for markets and the economy, so central banks had to show their seriousness on inflation, Tannenbaum added. Central banks softened rate rises with communication that was mindful of instability risks, showing reassuring "humility", said Perkins. "The bank resolution framework created after the great financial crisis," said Francesco Papadia, senior fellow at Bruegel and former ECB director general for market operations, "is proving difficult to implement." Reuters Graphics4/ UNITED WE STANDAfter CS's rescue, the Fed and other big central banks supported market liquidity with dollar swap lines. Amundi's Pradhan said the "case by case" central bank responses to individual lenders failing in March exposed the lack of a coordinated bank resolution system.

Companies European Central Bank FollowLONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - France's central bank governor François Villeroy de Galhau has pushed back against criticism of central banks' increasing involvement in the fight against climate change, calling the issue a "must have" focus. "Central banks' core mandate worldwide is price stability, and climate change already affects the level of prices and activity," Villeroy stressed. The debate about how much influence central banks can have in tackling climate issues has become increasingly divisive this year. Villeroy, however, who has long been a firm advocate of doing more, urged central banks and others to come up with better models of how climate change is likely to alter economies. It is also aiming to release short-term climate change scenarios by the end of 2024, which should show more adverse developments, incorporate tougher "shocks" and directly explore the potential impacts of climate change on inflation.

☆ Credit squeeze 'biggest threat' to economic outlook, Fidelity says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File Photo/File PhotoPARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - The biggest threat to the economic outlook is a credit squeeze that has not finished filtering through the financial system, a senior official at Fidelity Investments told a European equities conference on Wednesday. The "biggest threat" to the economy is a "true and visible credit crunch", Romain Boscher, chairman of the board at Fidelity Investments, which has about $4.5 trillion of assets under management, told the conference. Higher rates should be a permanent expectation, he said. Dhar said if credit conditions tightened enough, the U.S. would slip into a recession in the second half of the year. Harsher economic conditions and higher rates have changed priorities for asset manager portfolios, both said.

☆ Credit squeeze 'biggest threat' to economic outlook - asset managers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Brittany Hosea-Small/File Photo/File PhotoPARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - The biggest threat to the economic outlook is a credit squeeze that has not finished filtering through the financial system, two senior asset managers told a European equities conference on Wednesday. For asset managers, hedge funds and traders gathered in Paris for the Tradetech equity trading conference, recession risks were a key talking point. Higher rates should be a permanent expectation, he said. Dhar said if credit conditions tightened enough, the U.S. would slip into a recession in the second half of the year. Harsher economic conditions and higher rates have changed priorities for asset manager portfolios, both said.

☆ A top tip for central banks: talk less, smile more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investors hang on central bankers’ every word, hoping to gain an edge for their next trade. But with consumer prices rising at the fastest pace in decades, central bankers can’t easily cut borrowing costs, either. Chatty central banks are a relatively new phenomenon. Investors are also more sensitive to central banks today than in years past. Still, being more careful about what’s said, and how it’s said, could help central banks better balance their priorities.

☆ UK's scandal-hit CBI fires director-general after complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The allegations that have been made over recent weeks about the CBI have been devastating," it said in a statement. Danker stepped aside in March while the CBI conducted a review into his behaviour. The CBI said three employees were suspended pending further investigation into a number of ongoing allegations. "The CBI is liaising with the police and has made clear its intention to cooperate fully with any police investigations," it said. After he was suspended, Danker expressed regret over his behaviour.

☆ Liquidity rules need rethink after Silicon Valley Bank crash, says Carney
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States last month highlighted the "greater flightiness" of desposits, particularly those of small business clients, Carney told a Reuters Breakingviews podcast. Over $40 billion left Silicon Valley Bank in 24 hours, leaving authorities confronting a new risk: the social media bank run as depositors can withdraw cash with just a few taps on their phone. These buffers should also count a bank's access to central bank liquidity as part of their calculations, he added. The United States has generally applied Basel standards only to its biggest banks, which did not include Silicon Valley Bank. Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods told lawmakers last week that bank liquidity rules might now be an open question for international policymakers.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - A member of a United Nations-backed coalition of insurance firms and pension funds seeking to tackle climate change told Reuters it was considering quitting after disagreements about curbing investment in the oil and gas sector split the group. The row is the latest in a string of policy splits among major climate coalitions of financial firms. AkademikerPension wanted the position paper to state that NZAOA members should only invest in public equities or corporate bonds when the companies involved are no longer investing in exploration for new oil and gas. German insurer Munich Re (MUVGn.DE) said earlier on Friday it was withdrawing from another alliance of insurers focused on reducing carbon emissions to avoid antitrust risks. "I think it's going to be extremely difficult for a plaintiff, even a government enforcer, to prevail on an antitrust theory of harm," said Mitnick.

☆ Fed’s reluctance to go green will cost the Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Central banks don’t think they can do much about the environment. The U.S. Federal Reserve has done even less, arguing it should not tackle climate change without an explicit order from Congress. In a 2021 survey by Invesco, 63% of responding central banks said addressing climate change fell within their mandate. Central banks aren’t best equipped to lead the green transition, anyway. There’s also a valid concern that focusing on climate change could water down the Fed’s mission to fight inflation.

☆ Inflation is doing a crab walk and Fed officials fear its pinch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Some background: The Covid-19 crisis triggered a sudden shift in student loan policy and a new openness to forgiveness. About 40% of those with federal student loan debt would have a zero balance; even more would have a much smaller monthly payment. But, “if payments resume without debt relief, we expect both student loan default and delinquencies to rise and potentially surpass pre-pandemic levels,” warned Fed researchers. Those missed payments suggest that some federal student loan borrowers are having trouble meeting their monthly debt obligations. “We expect these delinquency patterns to worsen if federal student loan payments resume without relief,” said the report.

Against a backdrop of slowing economic activity and demand, these "base effects" strongly suggest broader inflation has peaked and could fall rapidly in the coming months. Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, reckons that these disinflationary dynamics will intensify, so much so that headline U.S. consumer price inflation may fall below 2% by the end of this year. Brent oil is below $80 a barrel, and on Wednesday its year-on-year price differential turned negative for the first time in two years. This trend is likely to continue due to base effects - Brent hit a 14-year peak around $130/bbl last March and was above $100/bbl as recently as July. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the non-seasonally adjusted average monthly rate of consumer price inflation in the first half of last year was 1%.

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