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Whither Libra?

Every other day, it seems, we witness the launch of a new crypto (digital) currency.  Each combines a medium of exchange and a means of payment.

Who Is to Blame for the New Banking Crisis?

BWC vice-chair William Rhodes: "a good deal of it lies with the former Trump administration and those members of Congress who listened to bank lobbyists and decided it would be wise to lighten the regulatory and capital burden on so-called smaller banks."

Why Are Natural Gas Prices High? Because Fracking Isn’t Really Profitable.

Natural-gas prices are skyrocketing globally, flummoxing policy makers. As parts of the world emerge from the pandemic, energy demand is up and supply down after the cold winter of 2020, worsening temperature extremes, severe drought in South America, and other shortages caused by geopolitical tensions. Here in the U.S., natural gas prices are up about 100% from a year ago. In the U.K., they’re up about 500%.

Why Central Banks Cannot Fix the State?

There are many high-profile examples these days of shifting the problems of the “state” on to other institutions, thereby placing the latter in impossible situations. Looking at Europe, we see the European Central Bank grappling with widening bond spreads caused by deeply entrenched fiscal problem, such as those facing Italy. No matter how skillfully the ECB operates in bond markets, it cannot substitute for national actions, including those which raise political uncertainty and then increase spreads within the Eurozone.

Why The Macroeconomic Policy Framework Needs An Overhaul: Lessons from Japan and the Great Recession

Paul James Sheard is an Australian-American economist. He is Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, after previously being Vice Chairman of S&P Global.

Paul spoke at the Boston Economic Club on why the macroeconomic policy framework needs an overhaul and suggested how.

Why US multilateral leadership was key to the global financial crisis response

Ten years after the onset of the global financial crisis, one of its most under-appreciated legacies is the strong U.S. embrace of multilateralism to address growing financial interlinkages around the world.

Will Climate Talks Finally Yield Real Results?

The upcoming 26th UN Conference of the Parties (COP26) almost feels like a wedding. Set in Glasgow, Scotland, COP26 will bring together negotiators from nearly every country on earth to assess progress in the global fight to stop climate change. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hosting. U.S. President Joe Biden has RSVPed yes, as has Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Will the Fed Start Believing in a Soft Landing?

BWC chair William C. Dudley writes on the Federal Reserve updating their Summary of Economic Projections soon, which haven't been "consistent with the soft landing that many in markets are already predicting, so any changes will be significant."

Will the G20 Summit Help India Become the Voice of the Global South?

BWC member Hung Tran writes for the Atlantic Council that "the West... the G7... should do what it can to tilt the balance in India’s favor in its competition against China to become the voice of the Global South, both this year... and next year... in Rio..."

Wirecard is a Wake-up Call on Regulatory Weakness

There is no room for apathy where regulators are involved; we need an investigation into Wirecard, however embarrassing and painful it may be.