European Central Bank Governing Council member Boris Vujcic repeated his view that current policy is “in a good place,” adding that “we feel that we have done our job” after lowering inflation to the ECB’s target without provoking a recession. 

The Croatian official’s remarks Thursday, at an event in Miami, come a week after the ECB left borrowing costs untouched for a third meeting, satisfied that monetary-policy settings are appropriate to keep prices under control and aren’t weighing on the economy. (ECB – Continue Reading) 

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said on Thursday ongoing high levels of inflation argue against the U.S. central bank cutting interest rates again. 

"I remain concerned about high inflation and believe policy should be leaning against it," Hammack said in the text of a speech to be delivered to an Economic Club of New York event. "After last week's meeting, I see monetary policy as barely restrictive, if at all, and it's not obvious to me that monetary policy should do more at this time." 

Hammack said the Fed continues to face inflation pressures that are above its target and that monetary policy is currently at a setting barely restrictive of economic momentum, which means it is not doing a lot to help push down price pressures that exceed the central bank's 2% target. (RTRS – Continue Reading) 

Japan's reflationist advocates of expansionary fiscal policy are making a comeback in economic decision-making with some hand-picked by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to fill posts in key government panels.

The move heightens the chance proponents of former premier Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" stimulus will yield influence on the fiscal and monetary policies of Takaichi, who herself is known as an advocate of loose fiscal and monetary policy. 

Among the reflationist academics, former Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe will join the Council of Economic and Fiscal Policy as one of the four private-sector members, the government said on Friday. (RTRS – Continue Reading)