Globally, the private sector is moving towards expanding the growth of tokenized assets trading, using private money channels (stablecoins) as payment systems. At the same time, the public sector, often central banks in alliance with private sector partners, is engaged in ambitious projects, exploring the feasibility of public payment systems using wholesale CBDCs to facilitate...Read More

In April 2023, Jake Sullivan, in a speech to the Brookings Institute, formally announced the replacement of what had become known since the1990s as the Washington Consensus with a New Washington Consensus. This paper defines and briefly describes the original Washington Consensus. It goes on to describe and discuss in detail the New Washington Consensus...Read More

This article concentrates on an analysis of the UK monetary policy operated by the Bank of England in attempting to control inflation, though some of the points made may have wider validity to other central banks. The essay develops its argumentation along five broad themes across five main sections. The first section looks at some...Read More

Reeves has herself set two metrics against which her budget should be assessed: a) that current expenditure should be matched by tax income (in any one year), and b) that there must be fiscal room, via borrowing, to fund public investment expenditure. These are her fiscal rules in outline. Generally, this is a sensible and...Read More

The GPI Report on the BRICS 2023 meeting, held in South Africa, indicated gradual progress in the institutional and policy development of the organization and interest is joining the organization from several countries, beyond the five founding members indicated in the acronym. This paper is structured similarly to the 2023 GPI BRICS report to facilitate...Read More

The advent of digital stablecoins and the continuing decline of cash are prompting central banks across the world to explore developing their own digital currencies. Although few have launched so far, the potential for central bank digital currency (CBDC) promises a revolution in banking. Michael Lloyd considers the opportunities and threats that the arrival of...Read More

Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement will be judged in terms of its perceived ability to lift the UK economic growth rate. The signs are not propitious, most economic commentators, taking account of the lack of growth over the past two quarters, are expecting relatively limited growth during the 2024. It is as well to note that...Read More

The recently published Bank of England (BoE) update on its secondary objectives: a secondary competition objective (SCO and a secondary competitiveness and growth objective (SCGO), both delivered via the Bank’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) role is a significant annual event (BoE 2023). This is also the week when the Bank has announced its decision on...Read More

The recent meeting of the BRICS in South Africa, or to give its full title – The BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Universal Security, and Innovative Growth – witnessed its substantial enlargement, from the initial five countries of Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa to 12 countries. The enlarged BRICS now includes the UAE,...Read More

There is little doubt that on October 7th, 2022, by intensifying and widening its export controls the US engaged in a “hot war” against China by attempting to destroy that country’s  capacity to develop further its semiconductor industry. The US has effectively unleashed a campaign of industrial sabotage against China across this crucial industrial sector....Read More