The QT Plan The Fed’s March minutes sketched out a plan for QT that was as aggressive as promised. The maximum monthly redemption cap this time around will be $95b, almost double the $50b cap from the prior QT. It will be split between $60b in Treasuries and $35b in Agency MBS, with some potential […]

This week has been dominated by the back and forth about Russia asking to be paid in Roubles for Energy imports by European Union clients. I was told about the “Roubles” thing late in the previous week at lunch by a friend, who is one of those understandably forlorn Italians who thought Putin was much […]

Is a Northern Rock lurking below the surface? Why I think that not only Central Bankers WILL push hard for CBDC, but also why their coy pretending that “we won’t access data” or “we’ll protect people’s right to use their money as they please”  as matters stand now  looks like pure hogwash. Central Bank Digital […]

Velina is Director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) in Vienna. www.velinatchakarova.com Since it has become clear that the US will not intervene militarily in a possible war between Russia and Ukraine, China and Russia anticipate a likely American retreat from the old continent in the long run in order to focus […]

Guest piece by Giovanni Ponzetto This is a sequel to “ LEARNING TO LOVE THE BOMB “ On December 21, we were able to mark the calendar for a significant event: Finnish Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear power plant reached first criticality. This is significant since its close relative in Flamanville has been pushed to 2024 . […]