The U.S. has stopped recommending routine COVID-19 vaccinations for pregnant women and healthy children, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr announced in a social media post on Tuesday, circumventing the CDC’s traditional recommendation process. Kennedy, FDA commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya said in a video that the shots have […]
Big U.S. banks are holding internal discussions about expanding into cryptocurrencies as they get stronger endorsements from regulators, but initial steps will be tentative, centering on pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, according to four industry executives. Wall Street giants that had been largely blocked from many crypto activities by strict regulations are poised to grow […]
Despite signs of cautious improvement, India-China relations remain deeply strained by border tensions and mutual distrust. China-India relations, which have long been fraught, were further complicated by the 2020 military standoff on the Himalayan border. The political disruption had a significant impact on Chinese companies’ presence in India. And yet, India’s dependence on Chinese imports […]
Advanced economies are still experiencing labour shortages in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This column examines the high labour shortages across OECD countries, focusing on wage and non-wage job quality. Real wages have generally increased, but with differences between countries and industries. Beyond pay, job insecurity, poor working conditions, and exposure to health risks […]
Implementation of the “Liberation Day” tariffs on the US’ trading partners would have far-reaching consequences for international trade patterns and the US and global economies. This column models the effects of an unanticipated permanent unilateral tariff imposed by the US and an assumed equal reaction on the part of the rest of the world. The […]
Central banks use communication to influence inflation expectations, with varying effectiveness. This column examines how professional forecasters and households respond to inflationary pressure warnings in the US. While professionals factor in the Federal Reserve’s policy response, revising expectations downwards, households place less weight on the central bank’s response to inflationary pressures. As a result, their […]
Geopolitical issues are flooding current political and economic debate, but evidence is limited on their interplay with structural policies. Combining information on geopolitical risks and the EU cohesion policy, this column evaluates the costs of geopolitical tensions in terms of reduced effectiveness of structural funds. The results indicate that the impact of the cohesion policy […]
The European Union is facing further pressure from member countries to delay and weaken its upcoming law to restrict deforestation, with 11 governments demanding changes, a document seen by Reuters showed. The world-first policy aims to end the 10% of global deforestation fuelled by EU consumption of imported soy, beef, palm oil and other products, […]
Rome’s determination to have a say in the reshaping of Italy’s financial sector has made things increasingly unpredictable for investors who have waited years for consolidation of the country’s fragmented banking landscape. UniCredit and its CEO Andrea Orcel are locked in a standoff with the Italian government over the bank’s bid for smaller rival Banco BPM. Italy’s second-largest […]
The EU’s Ombudswoman said on Friday she had launched an inquiry into how the European Commission fashioned its recent proposals to simplify sustainability laws, following a complaint by campaigners accusing the EU executive of weakening the rules without first consulting the public. In February, the Commission proposed legal changes it named the “simplification omnibus” that would exempt […]
