Coronavirus
IMF staff lay ground for $1.8 billion loan to Costa Rica
Staff set terms for three-year loan as high debt and Covid-19 take toll; earlier agreement foundered amid public protests
IMF warns of ‘exceptional uncertainty’ in vaccine-driven recovery
Fund upgrades global forecasts amid early success of vaccine rollout
BoE scolded for carbon-heavy investments
Parliamentary committee says current bond buying undermines “diplomatic leadership” on climate change
ECB leaves stimulus unchanged
Lagarde says prompt implementation of EU-wide fiscal stimulus is key to eurozone recovery
IMF provides $2.7 billion ‘precautionary’ support to Panama
Liquidity line will act as “insurance” for Panamanian authorities grappling with Covid, IMF says
Eurozone bank credit tightens despite ECB stimulus
Banks expect credit to further tighten during the first quarter of 2021
New macroeconomic framework needed for recovery – Ghana governor
Public debt levels have breached maximum thresholds and NPLs are likely to climb, Addison says
Eurozone inflation remains stuck at -0.3%
Year-on-year inflation first fell into negative territory in August 2020
New IMFC chair warns against premature stimulus withdrawal
Magadalena Andersson lays out priorities for the IMF over the coming years
Central banks must mobilise their FX reserves
The pandemic and climate crises call for bold action, write Gary Smith and John Nugée
Romanian central bank cuts rates as inflation falls
National Bank of Romania says inflation is below midpoint of target level
IMF’s Georgieva highlights pandemic impact in Latin America
GDP contraction is forecast to be 8% of GDP in 2020, double the level for the global economy
FCA court victory gives clarity to SMEs over Covid disruption
Court ruling will see a larger number of businesses receive payouts from their insurers
Design flaws in Covid relief package cost millions of jobs – Fed paper
Delay to paycheck protection programme had “very substantial” impact, economists argue
Bank of Israel announces major increase in FX interventions
Central bank announces FX spend in advance for first time and pledges 40% increase
Covid-19 data gaps threaten US recovery, researcher says
Minneapolis Fed economist urges statistical agencies to include diagnosis questions in surveys
Economics Benchmarks 2020 report – executive summary
Shedding light on economics governance, salaries, forecasting, research, publications and more
IMF welcomes Rwandan central bank’s Covid response
National Bank of Rwanda funnelled liquidity to banks and cut policy rates
Chile’s central bank to boost reserves by over 30%
CBC will purchase $12 billion to bring reserves to 18% of GDP before IMF credit line ends
BIS research tracks changing consumption patterns
Pandemic has led to “catching-up” process in e-commerce, bulletin article says
Riksbank to increase risk buffer
Swedish central bank concerned about future effects of asset purchases on balance sheet
RBI tells banks to prepare for delayed impact of Covid-19
Banks have avoided worst of the pandemic, but they must now raise capital, central bank says
Inflation could ‘approach’ FOMC target quicker than expected – George
Kansas City Fed president says decline in inflation has been idiosyncratic
MAS urges Singaporeans to use digital ‘red envelopes’ during Lunar New Year
E-hong bao help reduce the carbon emissions of printing banknotes, MAS says