It is commonly believed that adjustable-rate mortgages make contractionary monetary policy stronger, by allowing a faster pass-through of policy rates and therefore decreasing aggregate demand. This column argues that this view is incomplete and does not account for the favourable impact of higher interest rates on bank interest income and credit supply. Using US banking […]
Increasing numbers of countries are introducing privacy legislation to protect users’ data. But while consumers value their privacy and protection from potential misuse of data, fintech firms often rely on personal data to innovate and provide new products and services. This column presents evidence that the California Consumer Privacy Act in the US mitigated this […]
AMC Entertainment Holdings said on Monday its 10-to-1 reverse stock split will take place on Aug. 24 and its preferred shares “APE” will be converted to common stock on Aug. 25. The common shares of the theatre chain operator fell 38% to $3.25 in premarket trading, while its preferred shares rose 18% to $2.09. AMC aims […]
Shares of U.S. Steel jumped about 33% in mid-day trade on Monday, after the steelmaker rejected a $7.3-billion buyout offer from Cleveland-Cliffs but said it would review its options following “multiple unsolicited proposals” from other unnamed bidders. Even though U.S. Steel has so far rejected entreaties from Cleveland-Cliffs, shares surged on Monday, reflecting expectations that the Pittsburgh-based […]
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Monday as chipmaker Nvidia spearheaded gains among megacap growth stocks while investors also awaited earning reports from U.S. retail giants and economic data later in the week. Shares of Nvidia rose 5.4%, pushing the information technology index up 1.4% at the top of the S&P 500 sectoral gainers. Other […]
Statistical learning models are increasingly used for decision-making in private and public organisations. This column discusses how they could be usefully applied to predict export success with firms’ financial accounts. After training algorithms on the experience of exporters and non-exporters, one can obtain out-of-sample probabilistic scores that catch the distance of a company from exporting […]
The effect of energy prices on core inflation was negligible in the US but large and persistent in the euro area, where energy price shocks account for around one-third of current core inflation. This column examines and compares the consequence for these economies. It shows that core inflation in the US is unlikely to benefit […]
In 1990, about half of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and two-thirds in East Asia and the Pacific were living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than what today amounts to around $2.15 per person per day). In the three decades that followed, these three regions have followed quite different […]
The European Commission will analyse the U.S. ban on new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies as the issue is also important to the European Union’s economic security, the EU executive said on Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order to prohibit or restrict U.S. investments in Chinese entities in […]
Half of the global population today is below 30 years old, and this share will reach almost 60 percent 10 years from now. Given these demographic trends, youth have the potential to become a critical engine for global development if provided with the knowledge and job opportunities they need to thrive. In December 2009, the United Nations […]
