Noticias
EE UU descubre un yacimiento de petróleo gigante al oeste de Texas
Las primeras estimaciones señalan que contiene cerca de 20.000 millones de barriles que lo sitúan como el más grande de ese país
Rethinking central bank independence
CENTRAL bankers are under fire. In America, President-elect Donald Trump said that the Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen should be «ashamed of herself» for keeping rates too low; in Britain, Mark Carney of the Bank of England has been criticised for his views on the economic risks of Brexit; and in Europe, Mario Draghi has faced attacks from critics in Germany (for being too lax) and Greece (for being too tight).
In a new paper Ed Balls, who played an influential role in making the Bank of England independent, has teamed up with James Howat and Anna Stansbury to try to think through the role and wider responsibilities of the central bank. It is very much worth a read and here are my first thoughts (colleagues will doubtless chip in later).
As the paper points out, central bank power has increased in the wake of the 2007-08 crisis, extending well beyond the narrow pre-crisis focus on using interest rate policy to meet inflation targets. But the worry is that
Absolutist interpretations of complete central bank independence may both…Continue reading
Pot of gold
Flat white joint to goIN THE 1990s Snoop Dogg, a rapper, called cannabis “chronic”. The drug was illicit and cool. In 2016 Mr Dogg is a cannabis investor, and the drug is poised to earn another title: consumer staple. On November 8th four states, including California, voted to approve recreational cannabis use. Four other states eased rules for medical marijuana. About three-fifths of America’s population lives in states that now allow cannabis use in some form.
So pot entrepreneurs face the thrilling prospect of normality. This week industry leaders were meeting in Las Vegas to discuss how the sector might expand. They have in prospect a vast, partially established market. More than 32m Americans already use cannabis. As the business becomes more normalised, it is sure to attract new customers. “It’s not often that you see an industry and you know the inevitability of it,” says Brendan Kennedy of Privateer Holdings, a private-equity firm that specialises in cannabis. Last year legal sales reached $6bn, according to the Arcview Group, an investment and market-research firm. By 2020 Arcview expects legal sales to be…Continue reading
Goirigolzarri dice que el ajuste de empleo y oficinas en la banca continuará en los próximos años
El presidente de Bankia critica que los reguladores exijan capital «no siempre de forma precisa y ordenada». Leer
La deuda pública española suma 2.822 millones más y sigue en el 100% del PIB
Los compromisos de las administraciones públicas siguen por encima del objetivo enviado a Bruselas para el año, fijado en el 99,8%
FCC falseó datos de la basura para defraudar 800.000 euros a Barcelona
El Ayuntamiento lleva el caso a Fiscalía tras las irregularidades destapadas por EL PAÍS. La empresa abre una investigación