Supply chain disruptions have become a major challenge for the global economy since the start of the pandemic. Shutdowns of factories in China in early 2020, lockdowns in several countries across the world, labor shortages, robust demand for tradable goods, disruptions to logistics networks, and capacity constraints have resulted in big increases in freight costs and delivery times. Our chart of the week shows suppliers’ delivery times in the United States and the European Union have hit record highs since late...

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Speech by Governor Randal K. Quarles on the economic outlook at the 2021 Milken Institute Global Conference "Charting a New Course," Beverly Hills, California | Thank you to the Milken Institute for the opportunity to join you today. This morning I'd like to outline my view of current economic conditions and the economic outlook and then turn to the implications for monetary policy. In particular, with employment still well below its February 2020 peak, I will focus on how the...

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Soaring natural gas prices are rippling through global energy markets—and other economic sectors from factories to utilities. An unprecedented combination of factors is roiling world energy markets, rekindling the memories of the 1970s energy crisis and complicating an already uncertain outlook for inflation and the global economy. 'Energy futures indicate that prices are likely to moderate in the coming months.' Spot prices for natural gas have more than quadrupled to record levels in Europe and Asia, and the persistence and global dimension...

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Speech by Fabio Panetta, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the ECB-CEBRA conference on international aspects of digital currencies and fintech | Frankfurt am Main, 19 October 2021 | It is a pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the European Central Bank (ECB) to the fifth annual meeting of the International Finance and Macroeconomics Program of the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA). This year’s meeting is taking place virtually. And it brings together participants from nearly...

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The European Commission has today adopted a Communication that takes stock of the changed circumstances for economic governance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and relaunches the public debate on the review of the EU's economic governance framework. The Communication follows President von der Leyen's commitment in the State of the Union address to build a consensus on the future of the EU's economic governance framework. The Commission had previously suspended this public debate, which was first launched in February 2020,...

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The FTC has been warning consumers for years about impersonation scams – calls that falsely claim to come from the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or other offices or businesses. The messages try to coerce people into making immediate payments or turning over sensitive personal information. The FTC’s latest Data Spotlight focuses on the rampant rise of Amazon impersonation scams that have already bilked consumers out of millions of dollars. From July 2020 through June 2021, about one in three people who reported a...

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While most economic indicators deteriorated last year, house prices largely shrugged off the effects of the pandemic. Of the over 60 countries that enter into the IMF’s Global House Price Index, three-quarters saw increases in house prices during 2020, and this trend has largely continued in countries with more recent data. IMF research indicates that low interest rates contributed to the boom in house prices, as did policy support provided by governments and workers’ greater need to be able to work from home....

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Speech by EVP Margrethe Vestager at the Information Technology Industry Council | Good morning. Thank you, for the invitation to speak today and to Mr Oxman for the kind presentation. If we go by the polls, the Western World is experiencing what we could call a ‘One Third’ political crisis. Just the other day, a survey here in Belgium revealed that One Third of people no longer believe they are living in a democracy. One Third believe society would be better run...

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2021 Per Jacobsson Lecture by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the IMF Annual Meetings, 16 October 2021 | It is a pleasure to be back in Washington and to deliver this year’s Per Jacobsson Lecture. As a young man in the 1920s, Jacobsson worked in the Economic and Financial Section of the League of Nations Secretariat. There, he was actively involved in work on Europe’s financial reconstruction in the wake of the greatest shock that had hit the continent:...

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October 14, 2021 | GENEVA | United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today delivered a speech an event hosted by the Graduate Institute's Geneva Trade Platform about the World Trade Organization’s important role in the global economy, why it must adapt to the rapidly changing global economy, and how it can help unlock broad-based economic prosperity. You can watch Ambassador Tai's speech at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaKSYxJEGNk. Ambassador Tai's remarks as prepared for delivery are below: Good afternoon.  Thank you to Dmitry and Richard, the Geneva...

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