The ECB’s annual forum held in Portugal. Heads of the central banks are questioned on a variety of subjects. A bit long, but seeing the central bankers squirming under some expert questioning is quite amusing:
They all are squirming over commercial property values. My cousins in London are on edge. The family is in the commercial property industry. The family is worried on several levels. Their own holdings and the sales in the industry can affect them.
It’s quite amusing listening to them talk the party line.
George (BofE) said that they put interest rates up by 50 bp because the UK economy is strong.
Powell (The Fed.) said that the USA did not put up interest rates because the US economy is strong.
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Lagarde says something very interesting at 1:06:00 about energy.
I get the EU is focused on Russia but it goes well beyond that.
Lagarde was addressing fossil fuels v alternatives.
Fossil fuels take government subsidies and are inflationary. Her comment was not FULLY direct but she was shaking a soft stick at our societal inflationary problem historically with fossil fuels. She was suggesting a major structural shift. We see that in the EU and now in the US. In 2025 we really will see an inflection in CO2 production globally.
The BoJ chair is hard to understand. He speaks in abstracts that are ultra complex and yet dig deep into the facts of his economy.
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Wow! You actually spent over an hour listening?
DB2
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I am into central bankers. Friends at parties love to hear more about it.
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