Aurelia Butler

Neal, who is currently the chief executive of U.S. operations for LedgerEdge, a distributed ledger technology-powered trading platform, will join the New York Fed in March. “Given today’s rapid evolution in financial market structure, I’m excited for the opportunity to work with the Markets team and leverage their expertise to best position the Bank to execute in this unique environment,” Neal said in a statement issued Thursday. With the hire, the New York Fed fills an opening that has been in place for almost a year, since the previous markets head, Daleep Singh, resigned last February to take on a role as President Joe Biden’s deputy national security adviser.Fed officials are debating strategies for removing the economic support provided during the pandemic, including raising interest rates and reducing more than $8 trillion in bond holdings. The New York Fed is tasked with using market operations and other tools to control interest rates and keep financial markets stable. More

“Inflation rose by more than most economists, including me, expected and of course it’s our responsibility with the Fed to address that. And we will,” Yellen told CNBC in a live interview.”We have been hit by a pandemic that has created economic challenges that none of us anticipated, and it is our hope and intention to bring inflation down to levels that are consistent with the Fed’s interpretation of price stability,” Yellen said.The Treasury chief and former Fed chair said that U.S. household finances were in good shape, with some families better than before the pandemic, and built-up savings should help sustain the economy for years to come, even with less fiscal support going forward.Meanwhile, she said it was critical for more people to come back into the labor force, which would help ease supply pressures. This will require the pandemic to be brought under control. If that happens, she said she expects inflation pressures to ease throughout 2022.Yellen also told CNBC that she views Biden’s proposed Build Back Better social and climate legislation as encouraging more workforce participation through its child care and early childhood education provisions. More

When asked about his views on Omicron’s impact on the Brazilian economy, Campos Neto cautioned that cases are likely still being underreported in Brazil, but he added that unlike earlier in the pandemic, officials have not implemented mobility restrictions – allowing businesses to stay open.”Because mobility is not suffering as much, there is a tendency to believe that you are not going to have much of an impact, or at least less of an impact on the economy,” he said. Addressing an online conference hosted by Santander (MC:SAN) bank, he said China by contrast has adopted a severe policy to contain the new variant and the biggest concern regarding Omicron would be a supply disruption there affecting the global economy.”When you look at things that are being shipped out of China, you start to see some impact. It is probably too soon to say, but if you do have a supply disruption from China, it is going to impact everyone,” Campos Neto said.Brazil had been hard hit by initial waves of COVID-19, and now new cases are surging to daily records fuelled by the spread of Omicron. The spread of the virus has been filling hospitals again, though the variant appears to be less likely to cause severe disease than earlier ones.Brazil has the world’s third highest death toll from COVID-19 after the United States and Russia, according to Reuters calculations.Campos Neto has ran an aggressive monetary tightening policy amid double digit inflation in Brazil. The central bank more than quadrupled its benchmark rate last year to 9.25% in December from 2% in March and has already signaled another 150 basis point hike in February.He said inflation in the services sector “is a reason for us to worry,” and is being closely watched by policymakers.The market foresees a 5.09% rise in inflation in 2022, well above the government’s 3.5% target, according to the central bank’s latest weekly FOCUS survey of around 100 economists. More

(Reuters) -Creating an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could give Americans more, and speedier, payment options, but it would also present financial stability risks and privacy concerns, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a long-awaited discussion paper released on Thursday. The paper made no policy recommendations and offered no clear signal on where the Fed stands on whether to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital form of cash in your pocket. The Fed said it would not proceed with creating one “without clear support from the executive branch and from Congress, ideally in the form of a specific authorizing law.”The paper tiptoes around a subject that has sparked debate inside the Fed’s https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-digital-currency-analysis-idTRNIKBN2GQ13C top ranks, even as other central banks across the globe are exploring the adoption of digital currencies. Nevertheless, it sets the stage for the central bank to collect public feedback on the potential costs and benefits of a CBDC, which could ultimately advance legislation long-term.”While a CBDC could provide a safe, digital payment option for households and businesses as the payments system continues to evolve, and may result in faster payment options between countries, there may also be downsides,” Fed officials wrote.Challenges include maintaining financial stability and making sure the digital dollar would “complement existing means of payment,” the Fed said. The central bank also needs to tackle major policy questions such as ensuring a CBDC does not violate Americans’ privacy and that the government maintains its “ability to combat illicit finance.”Unlike cryptocurrencies, which are typically run by private actors, a CBDC would be issued and backed by the central bank. It would differ from electronic transactions that happen through large commercial banks in that it could give consumers a direct claim to the central bank, similar to physical cash.About 90 countries https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker are exploring or launching their own CBDCs, according to the Atlantic Council. A widely used digital euro, yuan or dollar may still be years away, but the projects could dramatically disrupt the global financial system. Despite steering clear of policy recommendations, the Fed did shed some light on how a digital dollar might function. Critically, it said a digital dollar would “best suit” U.S. needs if it were intermediated through the current financial system. That means individuals would not have CBDC accounts directly with the Fed, an approach backed by some Democrats who say a digital currency could help the unbanked. Banks worried that such an approach would eat into their deposit base.Still, Fed officials said they are not ruling anything out. The central bank will collect comments on the issue via an online form https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/forms/CBDC for 120 days. Thursday’s paper is separate from research the Boston Fed has been working on with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to explore the technological aspects of a CBDC. That research, including coding that could be used for a potential U.S. CBDC, will be released as early as next month. BOARD DIVISIONSThe paper partially echoed the views of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has said such a project must have broad support and ideally be mandated by Congress.Fed Governor Lael Brainard, meanwhile, has said it is not “sustainable” for the United States to hold off on pursuing a digital dollar at time when competing economies are moving ahead. Others, including Fed Governor Christopher Waller, are more skeptical and point out that many dollar transactions are already digital.Jonathan McCollum, chair of federal government relations for Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, said some in Washington worry the United States could weaken its position as the holder of the global reserve currency if it does not move ahead.”The U.S. has the opportunity to set the rules for how digital currencies function in the international financial system, but it is critical we start now,” he said. More