By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC-Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN NY Mag
SDNY COURT / NYC, June 24 – When the International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva took a half-dozen questions on June 24 about the IMF's Article IV review of the United States economy, Inner City Press asked her about Federal Reserve transparency and antitrust enforcement. Video here.
The Article IV Concluding Statement on the US said, among other things, "Changes to strengthen the Federal Reserve’s communication tools would carry a high payoff in the current conjuncture. In particular, as an alternative to the Summary of Economic Projections, the Federal Reserve could begin publishing, at each policy meeting, an internally consistent economic projection and rate path, produced by Fed staff and potentially endorsed (or 3 otherwise recognized) by the FOMC. The Federal Reserve could also usefully clarify in its Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy how the policy framework now applies in an environment where inflation has moved well above 2 percent."
Inner City Press specifically asked about the Fed's communications in advance of its recent interest rate increase of 75 basis points. Georgieva said that the IMF applauded the move; her staff said that, yes, communications could always improve.
In response to Inner City Press' question about antitrust enforcement, referencing two large proposed bank mega-mergers (Bank of Montreal to buy BNP Parisbas' Bank of the West, and Toronto Dominion to buy First Horizon - issues exist on each)
IMF staff and M-D said that corporation concentration in the US and elsewhere is becoming a problem.
We'll have more on this.
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