The United States may soon have its own digital dollar, which would track transactions while giving banks and governments full control over how people spend money. The New York Federal Reserve has launched a 12-week pilot program for a central bank digital currency, with participants including Mastercard, Citi, HSBC, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, and others….

The Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, has increased interest rates from 3 to 3.5 percent, a new 14-year high. At its meeting ending on Dec. 14, the bank’s nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 6–3 to increase the bank rate by 0.5 percentage points. It is a slowdown from…

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) reported a loss of 142.4 billion francs ($142.2 billion) for the first nine months of this year as a stronger franc considerably lowered gains from equity and bond holdings. This is the largest loss in the central bank’s 115-year history, with SNB crediting the loss to rising interest rates and…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could potentially allow a government to control what people spend their hard-earned cash on. Speaking at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting on Oct. 15, Deputy Managing Director Bo Li said that a CBDC could improve “financial inclusion” through programmability. “A CBDC can…

The Federal Reserve is the central bank in the United States, and there is an equivalent to the Federal Reserve in almost every country throughout the entire world. Central banks across the entire world—including the European Central Bank—the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum, and all of these global institutions are talking about creating…

The Federal Reserve is the central bank in the United States, and there is an equivalent to the Federal Reserve in almost every country throughout the entire world. Central banks across the entire world—including the European Central Bank—the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum, and all of these global institutions are talking about creating…

The Japanese economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in its second quarter, up from the initial estimate of 2.2 percent, as consumer and business spending rebounded with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The figure is above the median market projection of 2.9 percent growth. Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.9…

Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), posted a net loss of S$7.4 billion ($5.3 billion) for the 2021-2022 financial year that ended on March 31. In his speech at a press conference on July 19, the MAS’s Managing Director Ravi Menon noted that the loss arose mainly from lower investment gains (S$4…

SEOUL—South Korea’s central bank raised its policy interest rate by an unprecedented half point on Wednesday, aiming to pull inflation from 24-year highs while balancing fear of a sharp economic downturn as business activity flounders. Though 6 percent inflation prompted calls for action, a policy rate widely seen peaking by year-end at 2.75 percent—five times higher…

Commentary The independence of the central bank has been increasing over the past decade or so. Central banks are regarded as panacea in the face of adverse shocks. Janet Yellen was threatened to be fired by Donald Trump, and Jay Powell was thought to be under political pressure to not withdraw liquidity early, thus leading…