UK mortgage rules to be loosened to help first-time buyers and pensioners
Financial Conduct Authority wants to boost lending and make market more flexible
Farmers' demands and govt red lines keep Greece in deadlock
The confrontation between Greece’s government and protesting farmers remains unresolved, with both sides hardening their positions.
‘Checkout charity’ requests often backfire, leaving shoppers feeling guilty: new study
Sumup/Unsplash“Would you like to donate $2 to charity today?”
If you have been Christmas shopping this season, you probably heard this question — and potentially felt pressured to donate money in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal Hits Stumbling Block
The U.S. government has paused a tech-focused trade pledge with Britain over broader disagreements about Britain’s digital regulations and food safety rules.
Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Fee Faces Lawsuit
California and New York are among the states arguing that the Trump administration’s decision to charge that fee for skilled foreign workers is illegal.
IFDP Paper: To Cap or Not to Cap? Energy Crises in a Currency Union
Momo KomatsuDuring the energy crisis in 2022 some Euro Area countries introduced price caps on energy, while others did not, leading to about 30 percentage points higher energy inflation in uncapped countries. This paper investigates the trade-offs policymakers face with energy price caps in a two-country currency union model with shared energy supply. The cooperative, optimal outcome is for neither country to impose a price cap, since the cap is a costly market distortion.
IFDP Paper: Decoupling Dollar and Treasury Privilege
Wenxin Du, Ritt Keerati, and Jesse SchregerWe document a strong decoupling between the convenience yield on the US Dollar and US Treasuries. We measure the convenience of the U.S. dollar using covered interest parity (CIP) deviations between risk-free bank rates, such as secured overnight rates since the benchmark reform. In parallel, we measure the convenience of U.S. Treasury bonds through CIP deviations between government bond yields.
Businesses Are Cashing In on Trump’s Tax Cuts
Corporate tax revenue has quickly dipped since Republicans passed tax cuts this summer. But economists think these tax breaks might be worth it.
The quiet rise in the tax burden for UK businesses will hit workers and consumers too
William Barton/ShutterstockMany businesses in the UK saw the 2025 budget as a tightening of the screw in a period of already difficult conditions. While the government insists it is not raising taxes on companies overall, disquiet among businesses could have an impact on jobs, wages and the wider economy.
Cooling Labor Market and Elevated Inflation Stoke Fed Divisions on Rate Cuts
Fed officials explained their opposition to the central bank’s decision this week to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
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