Jair Bolsanoro
David Marsh and Meghnad Desai on Boris Johnson, Desmond Lachman on Bolsonaro’s Brazil, and more
OMFIF Update
17-21 June 2019 Vol.110 Ed.25
COMMENTARY
Bolsonaro’s Brazil in public debt peril
Jair Bolsanoro’s move into Brazil’s presidential palace raised market hopes that he would revitalise the country’s economy, build a consensus for pension reform and place public finances on a more sustainable track. So far, he has failed to make any meaningful progress, writes Desmond Lachman.
MEETING
Italy at a crossroads
This roundtable will unpack Italy’s political realities and economic positioning. Participants will review Italy’s economic situation compared to that of other European Union member states, its relationship with the EU and its wider place in the world. The meeting will also review the state of the country’s 2019 budget.
PODCAST
Central banks and social media
OMFIF’s Danae Kyriakopoulou and Pierre Ortlieb discuss the growing prominence of social media in central bank communications strategies. They touch upon the importance of communications in an era of unconventional monetary policy, and broader trends around central banks’ presence on Twitter.
MEETING
The next decade of finance
A decade after the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis and the OMFIF Foundation organise an international gathering to look at themes such as household debt, financial inclusion, sustainable investment and the role of technology in employment and education.
COMMENTARY
Fed may signal ‘imminent rate cuts’
Concerns about the implications of Donald Trump’s willingness to use trade tariffs in disputes mean downside risks to US growth are building.
On the second day of the FOMC’s June meeting, the Fed was expected to signal imminent precautionary rate cuts, writes James Knightley.
David Marsh
NEWS
Talk of ‘Powell put’ counterproductive
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box about the US Federal Reserve, OMFIF Chairman David Marsh said, ‘This idea of a “Powell put” is decidedly adverse.
All this talk about the Fed being ready to cut is actually very counterproductive, and it would be a race to the bottom. I don’t think things are that dire at all.”
PODCAST
Global financial stability
Fabio Natalucci, deputy director of the monetary and capital markets department at the International Monetary Fund, joins Patricia Haas Cleveland, US principal at OMFIF, to discuss the IMF’s global financial stability report, ‘Vulnerabilities in a Maturing Credit Cycle.”
Greg Hands
MEETING
Future of the Conservative party
Greg Hands, Conservative member of parliament and former minister of state at the UK department for international trade, will discuss the UK’s departure from the European Union and the future of the Conservative party.
Topics will include the impact of the party leadership on the different Brexit scenarios.
COMMENTARY
Boris Johnson
Bumpy ride for UK PM candidate
Britain is trying to resolve its problem over leaving the European Union through a further round of the Conservative party’s 30-year civil war.
The election of another short-lived leader will damage the UK irretrievably. Johnson polarises as much as he unites, write Meghnad Desai and David Marsh.
MEETING
Indonesia’s infrastructure investment
With a new $400bn infrastructure plan, Bambang Brodjonegoro, minister of national development planning and Perry Warjiyo, governor of Bank Indonesia, discuss how to overcome perceived regulatory challenges, project financing and risk management.
