The Fed’s campaign of rate hikes is showing more signs of having the intended effect of slowing the economy – but that may be bad news for those who lose their jobs or have a harder time finding one.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
More than one million borrowers are set to come off ultra-low fixed mortgage rates this year and next, meaning the full effect of the ten rate rises to date is yet to be felt.
Raising rates to fight inflation involves a time lag so current efforts to bring down prices won’t start having an impact until the next election is approaching.
Geranda Notten, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Canada’s official poverty measure only focuses on income and ignores other important factors, meaning there are millions of Canadians living in poverty that are ignored by the measure.
The Fed raised rates by a quarter-point – less aggressive than had been expected before the current banking crisis, but signaling inflation is still its focus.
The latest consumer prices report shows cost of living is still rising far above the Fed’s target. But don’t expect monetary policymakers to aggressively hike rates.
The collapse of a US bank is the latest crisis for central banks to deal with. But rather than being saviours of the global economy, what if they are actually a big part of the problem?