(Bloomberg Opinion) — With mainstream investment products increasingly finding a second home on the blockchain, it’s a good time to ask what role central banks would play if everything they have learned while policing double-entry bookkeeping over the last 350 years becomes irrelevant. The techno-anarchist vision behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin was to free the financial wellbeing of individuals from the clutches of large…
As US President Donald Trump sends shockwaves through global markets, one asset class that stands gleaming is gold. On Tuesday, its price reached a new record high of nearly $3,150 per ounce in the international market amid concerns over the global economy taking a big hit once Trump’s reciprocal tariffs come into force from 2…
Investors abroad sold longer term Treasuries for three consecutive months, a sign of central bankers reducing their reliance on the U.S. as a financial buffer. In January, foreign residents sold a net $13.3 billion of U.S. notes and bonds that had more than one year to maturity, the latest Treasury data show. It comes after…
(Bloomberg) — European stocks were muted as investors looked ahead to central banks’ decisions as President Donald Trump continues to ramp up tariffs threats. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed as of 8:15 a.m. in London. The energy and healthcare were the top-performing sectors, while consumer products lagged. Shipping stocks including AP Moller-Maersk…
Shaktikanta Das, who recently retired as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, was appointed as a principal secretary to the Prime Minister, making him the second most important government bureaucrat in the country. Just as retired judges taking up political appointments is perceived as undermining judicial independence, post-retirement appointments of central bank governors could evoke…
Ah, the sweet irony of great expectations. A digital currency born out of rebellion—created by an anonymous entity right after the 2008 financial crisis that America gifted the world—is now being paraded around by the very institutions it was designed to overthrow. Bitcoin was meant to challenge financial systems under sovereign control. By offering an…
Indian banks and prominent financial institutions are facing margin pressure according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, as detailed in a report by ANI. The report further elaborated that loan growth in six of India’s biggest banks on an aggregate basis is expected to decline to 12.3% in the fiscal year closing March 31, 2025. This…
Anticipation of imminent cuts rose after the Jackson Hole huddle of central bankers and economists, an occasion that market participants across the world were watching for cues. “The time has come for policy to adjust,” Fed chair Jerome Powell said in his speech, adding that “the direction of travel is clear, and the timing and…
Two gentlemen who should have found a mention in the museum’s exhibits are Isaac Newton and Thomas Gresham, both intricately linked to how money has evolved over the years. Newton, other than playing a key role in the scientific revolution, was also the Master of the Royal Mint from 1699 until his death in 1727….
Some necessary reforms are straightforward and widely agreed, raising the question of why they haven’t been adopted. First, the IMF should provide its members with regular annual allocations of its in-house financial instrument, special drawing rights (SDRs). This would provide an alternative to the US dollar as a source of global liquidity, while also addressing…
