Will the Central Banks Drive Financial Markets in 2018?
By SNW Asset Management via Iris.xyz
A steady Eddie commonly refers to a person who does everything by the rules and doesn’t take risks. Edward (“Eddie”) George, Governor of the Bank of England (1993-2003), earned this nickname because of his determination to steady the British economy and his composure during crises.
Central bankers were the “Steady Eddies” last week, making a number of important calming and stabilizing announcements.
First, Jay Powell was confirmed by the U.S. Senate (85 yea and 12 nay) to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Mr. Powell represents a stability candidate who is not expected to deviate from Ms. Yellen’s program for slowly tightening monetary policy and reducing the Fed’s balance sheet. As we know, Ms. Yellen’s first and only term as Fed chair is due to end on February 3.
Second, The Bank of Japan announced after its regularly scheduled meeting last week that it would keep steady its short-term policy rate at negative 0.1 percent and will continue to purchase Japanese government bonds (JGBs), so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent. The bank will purchase at more or less the current pace–an annual rate of about 80 trillion yen, although recent amounts have been less. Even its goals remain steady, as the Bank of Japan still expects to reach its 2.0% inflation goal by fiscal 2019.
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