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Monetarists Accuse ECB of "Dangerous Game of Chicken"; The REAL Dangerous Game

MishTalk

In addition to holding its benchmark rate at 0.25%, the ECB also left the rate it pays on bank deposits unchanged at zero. The ECB balance sheet has plummeted to 23pc of eurozone GDP from a peak of 32pc in July 2012. ECB president Mario Draghi said: "We have to dispense with this idea of deflation. The answer is no."

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Pettis on Strains in China's Banking System; Avoiding the Fall

MishTalk

While the benchmark deposit rate was officially lowered from 3.00% to 2.75%, the upper limit that banks can pay for deposits remained unchanged at 3.30%. It may seem strange to have both a benchmark rate and a “floating range” that establishes a cap, instead of just setting a cap, as was the case until very recently.

Banking 71
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Swiss Bank Hits Customers With Negative Interest Rates; Crazy? What About Velocity?

MishTalk

With its balance sheet totalling nearly 1.6 While it’s still too early to tell if they will work, Draghi pledged during the height of Europe’s debt crisis in 2012 to do “whatever it takes” to save the area’s common currency, signaling the ECB’s willingness to be innovative. percent if necessary.

Banking 28
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Reflections on 2013; What's Important, What's Not? What's Ahead?

MishTalk

Had I suggested in 2007 that the Fed balance sheet expansion of $75 billion a month would have been considered "tightening" people would have thought I was nuts. The most important event for me in 2012, was the death of my wife Joanne, following 27 years of marriage. In 2012, I was also diagnosed with prostate cancer.