Governments the world over are spending like crazy to try and steer their economies through the COVID-19 crisis. Whether it’s the fiscal policies of the government or the monetary policies of the central bank, it all still revolves around using money that wasn’t around a few months ago. So how much of what is happening is described by Modern Monetary Theory – and how much more could be done if we accepted that MMT is the way things should really work. And do central banks, or treasurers really understand it? Phil Dobbie asks Prof Steve Keen whether MMT can solve the
COVID-19 debt problem?
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Markets turn as Powell reaffirms ‘some way to go’
The FOMC statement this morning had little market response, but NAB’s David de Garis says there has been a sharper reaction to words from Jerome Powell in the press conference that followed.
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Lagarde’s tapering reluctance; vaccines winning against mutations
Strong PMIs around the world on Friday, but inflation is evident again. NAB’s Tapas Strickland says they all point to a strong bounce back in activity, but also the risk of rising inflation.
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The pound hammered, will it last?
Markets responded harshly to the UK’s minibudget on Friday. NAB’s Ray Attrill says there’s a mini Sterling crisis in the making.
Phil Dobbie — please do NOT understand. I’m afraid this interview was disjointed and confusing because you “understood” far too quickly. Listen, and process Keen’s arguments quietly. It would be ok to end the conversation saying — “I’m going to have to reflect on what you’ve said because some of it still doesn’t make sense to me.” That would make for a better listening experience than allowing all these half-finished thoughts to simply hang in the air.
This was a rare opportunity — an accomplished economist like Keen just LEARNED something new and important, only two weeks before you spoke to him. That Eureka moment was pretty much lost in the noise.