10-24-2016, 11:03 PM
In the past decade or so, a number of central banks have purchased assets financed by the creation of central bank reserves as a tool for loosening monetary policy – a policy often known as ‘quantitative easing’ or ‘QE’. The first half of the paper reviews the international evidence on the impact on financial markets and economic activity of this policy. It finds that these central bank balance sheet expansions had a discernible and significant impact on financial markets and the economy. The second half of the paper provides new empirical analysis on the macroeconomic impact of central bank balance sheet expansions, across time and countries. It finds three key results. First, it is only when central bank balance sheet expansions are used as a monetary policy tool that they have a significant macro-economic impact. Second, there is evidence for the US that the effectiveness of QE may vary over time, depending on the state of the economy and liquidity of the financial system. And third, QE can have strong spill-over effects cross-border, acting mainly via financial channels. For example, the impact of US QE on UK economic activity may be as large as the impact on US economic activity.
Today, countries with negative policy rates make up almost a quarter of global gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.
What are negative interest rates? - Business Insider
As Japan's entrepreneurial spirit fades, the elderly make up a rising share of people going into business for themselves. About a third of new entrepreneurs were 60 or older in 2012, the latest year for which data was available, according to the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency, a part of the trade ministry. That compares with 8 percent three decades earlier.
Elderly Make Up Nearly a Third of Japan's New Entrepreneurs - Bloomberg
Coal-fired power plants are facing increasing financial distress due to low prices in the Texas electricity market, a trend that is unlikely to reverse, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, The Beginning of the End. The pressure on coal is coming primarily from cheap natural gas and low-cost renewables, and to a lesser extent environmental regulations, according to IEEFA. The report evaluated seven large coal plants owned by merchant power producers and public power utilities. They total more than 8 gigawatts of capacity, about 40 percent of the total coal capacity in Texas.
5 Charts That Show How Coal Is Getting Killed in Texas | Greentech Media
In a study financed by the Education Endowment Foundation, the University of Bristol assessed the performance of 10,600 students approaching GCSEs in disadvantaged areas to see what effect financial incentives (worth up to £80 per half-term) or non-financial enticements (such as vouchers for gig tickets) would have on behaviour, schoolwork, homework and attendance. While incentives had little effect on strong pupils, underperformers improved exam grades and pass marks by up to 10%. The intervention had particularly substantial effects on science and maths GCSE results for up to half of those involved, closing 50% of the attainment gap between pupils eligible for free school meals and other students.
Honey, I bribed the kids. And now they’re star pupils | Barbara Ellen | Opinion | The GuardianBrexit: leading banks set to pull out of UK early next year | Politics | The Guardian