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The presence of women, alongside men, at the top of public and private financial institutions is beneficial for both the organisations themselves and the global economy. OMFIF is contributing to this conversation with the sixth annual Gender Balance Index, which tracks the presence of men and women in senior positions at central banks, sovereign funds and public pension funds.
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As US external deficits widen in response to relatively strong US economic performance and imbalanced macroeconomic policies, there is a considerable risk the Trump administration could amplify its protectionist rhetoric and actions. Yet rising US trade and current account deficits are largely 'made in America'.
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OMFIF in 2018 expanded its geographical reach, product range and spread of co-operation partners. And we deepened interlinkages among services in different parts of the world. From our London base, we built up further operations in Singapore and Asia as well as in the US, with the appointment of US Treasury veteran Mark Sobel as US chairman.
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Central banks have become more visible and more vulnerable. The 100th edition recognises the bittersweet realities of modern central banking. No fewer than eight serving and former central bank governors and deputy governors have contributed to this edition of the magazine, representing both major advanced economies and emerging powers in all corners of the world.
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Since 2009 central banks worldwide have been on a gold buying spree, adding almost 4,000 tonnes of the yellow metal to their reserves. The value of their total gold holdings is around $1.4tn, or 10% of all central bank foreign exchange assets. This rapid increase in gold holdings follows an extended period of decline from the early 1970s to the 2008 financial crisis.
Read moreIt is difficult to forecast precisely when the next global economic recession will happen. It is much easier to predict its severity, writes Desmond Lachman. According to the IMF, the global debt to GDP level is 250% – around 30 percentage points higher than it was on the eve of the 2008 financial crisis.
If Trump's fiscal deficits are not offset by an increase in private savings relative to private investment, increases in the federal deficit will translate into larger trade deficits. Trump will then be responsible for the homegrown trade deficit. It's time for the president to get real on trade, writes Steve Hanke.
Last month the Brazilian government presented its 'New Social Security' proposal to Congress. The government says the reforms are necessary to spark economic growth, though critics argue the new system would put excessive strain on the poor. The approval process will be far from smooth, writes Gustavo Rangel.
Assuming opponents maintain their vote against Theresa May's Brexit deal because of the contemptuous way she has treated MPs, and assuming hardcore anti-European MPs maintain their faith, the prime minister still does not have the votes to get her deal through in the next two weeks, writes Denis Macshane.
The future of the European Central Bank's monetary policy following extra liquidity measures and a pause in tightening announced last week was discussed at an OMFIF roundtable with New York investors and Natacha Valla, the ECB's deputy director for monetary policy.
It is tempting for Washington to dismiss the UK's Brexit crisis as a problem affecting a former imperial power with little relevance to the US. That would be a grave mistake, writes Desmond Lachman. At a time of global financial market fragility, it would be in the US interest to promote a healthy UK and Europe.
The rise of 'superstar firms' has caused a shift in structure of product markets. With advances in technology, firms' market power has risen, as has price volatility. This complicates central banks' job and muddles the transmission of inflation policy via prices, writes Pierre Ortlieb.
Vicky Pryce, board member of the Centre for Economics and Business Research and part of the OMFIF advisers network, and Pierre Ortlieb, OMFIF economist, debated in today's City A.M. the virtues and vices of various measures of inflation, and how institutions can best express modern consumption habits.
OMFIF-World Trade Organisation seminar
Wed 20 Mar 2019
MARCH | London
A roundtable with Patrick Suckling, ambassador for the environment, DFAT
Fri 22 Mar 2019
MARCH | Singapore
City Lecture with Patrick Harker of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Mon 25 Mar 2019
MARCH | London
Ninth Economists' Meeting in Frankfurt
Tue 26 Mar 2019
MARCH | Frankfurt
A roundtable with Philip Rycroft, Permanent Secretary, Department for Exiting the European Union
Wed 27 Mar 2019
MARCH | London
Roundtable with Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek minister of finance
Thu 28 Mar 2019
MARCH | London
The 2018 Absa Africa Financial Markets Index launched in Bali alongside the IMF-World Bank Group meetings. In its second year, the index is a premier indicator of the attractiveness of Africa’s capital markets, for use by investors and asset managers around the world.
The distribution of women across academic fields is uneven, and this segregation appears persistent. Economics is no exception. Despite the increase in the number of female economists over the last few decades, women in economics continue to be underrepresented.
Stock market volatility tends to reach its peak in October, underlined by famous crashes in 1929, 1987 and 2008. Cross-currents in the world economy make this October particularly pivotal, especially in the light of the tug of war between good news out of the US and bad news out of China.
Global growth and inflation figures, in addition to rising commodity prices and interest rates, point to the risk of staglation over the summer months. The geopolitical backdrop, and the threat of a US-China trade war, also has a whiff of stagflation about it.
The world is experiencing one of the longest economic expansions since records began and there's no end in sight, with muted inflationary pressures keeping interest rates low. Stock markets like this not too hot, not too cold 'Goldilocks' backdrop.
This month’s poll focuses on the prospect of further trade antagonism between the US and China. Participants were asked: ‘Will China and US trade tensions alleviate or escalate in 2019?’
