首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
When the economy is sinking and inflation fading rapidly, is there any merit in cutting interest rates gradually? On December 4t
When the economy is sinking and inflation fading rapidly, is there any merit in cutting interest rates gradually? On December 4t
admin
2013-06-02
30
问题
When the economy is sinking and inflation fading rapidly, is there any merit in cutting interest rates gradually? On December 4th the Bank of England again opted for boldness. It cut its benchmark (基准) rate by a percentage point, to 2% , following a stunning one-and-a-haft-point reduction a month earlier. On the same day Sweden’s central bank slashed its rate, from 3.75% to 2%, and said big cuts were needed because monetary policy was less effective than usual. But the European Central Bank (ECB) was stuck somewhere between caution and boldness. Less than an hour after the Bank of England’s decision, the ECB reduced its main rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, to 2.5%. That was the biggest cut in its ten-year history. It may look daring, but in the circumstances seems inadequate.
One reason for the Bank of England’s haste is that the British economy, with its housing bust and exposure to financial services, is falling fast. Yet the euro area is struggling almost as badly. A closely watched index of activity, based on surveys of purchasing managers in manufacturing and services, slumped in November to its lowest level ever. That suggests euro-area GDP is shrinking fast, and for a third successive quarter. Business and consumer confidence is at a 15-year low, according to a survey by the European Commission.
The ECB’s remit is to stabilize inflation, not the economy. But inflation is no longer a barrier to big rate cuts and the bank needs to act to ensure it does not fall too low.
With news this grim, why not cut interest rates by more? In a speech last month, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, of the ECB’s rate-setting council, argued against a hyperactive monetary policy(过激的货币政策). A big rate cut, he said, is more likely to drain confidence than perk it up, if "it is interpreted as a signal that the central bank has a more pessimistic assessment of the economy than market participants". A central bank that acts aggressively to insure against deflation could intensify expectations of it, malting that outcome more, not less, likely. Policymakers who slash rates at the first sign of danger will quickly run out of "ammunition(弹 品 )" ,he said.
Yet the immediate outlook for the economy is so bleak that there seems little merit in holding fire. In America the Federal Reserve has hardly any room left for bold cuts: its target rate is at 1% but the actual rate is lower. Even so, the Fed’s policy of pushing vast sums of cash into the economy has shown that monetary-policy options are not exhausted even when interest rates approach zero. Jean Claude Trichet, the ECB’s president, had held his usual press conference, hut the bank seemed likely to cut rates again at its next rate-setting meeting on January 15th.
What are the Federal Reserve’s actual interest rates now?
选项
A、Lower than 1%.
B、A little bit higher than its target rate.
C、Quite large room left to further cutting.
D、Higher than 1%.
答案
A
解析
事实细节题。由定位句可看出,美联储已经没有降息的空间了,因为其实际利率已经低于其目标利率了(1%),A 符合题意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/VZ67777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Researchersareincreasinglyinterestedinmanipulatingtheenvironmentearlyinchildren’sliveswhentheyareperceivedtobe
Researchersareincreasinglyinterestedinmanipulatingtheenvironmentearlyinchildren’sliveswhentheyareperceivedtobe
A、Theyarecheckingthepostersontheofficewalls.B、Themansuggeststhewomantolookattheposterseveryhour.C、Theycan
Isyourfamilyinterestedinbuyingadog?Adogcanbeahappy【36】toyourfamily,butifyouchoosethewrongkindofdog,the【
Isyourfamilyinterestedinbuyingadog?Adogcanbeahappy【36】toyourfamily,butifyouchoosethewrongkindofdog,the【
Isyourfamilyinterestedinbuyingadog?Adogcanbeahappy【36】toyourfamily,butifyouchoosethewrongkindofdog,the【
Isyourfamilyinterestedinbuyingadog?Adogcanbeahappy【36】toyourfamily,butifyouchoosethewrongkindofdog,the【
Recentstoriesinthenewspapersandmagazinessuggestthatteachingandresearchcontradicteachother,thatresearchplaystoo
Canyouchangeyournamejustbecauseyoudon’tlikeit?Andtheanswerappearstobe"yes"inVirginiaand"no"inNewYork.Th
随机试题
《陈毅市长》一剧创作于()
公诉案件的被害人可以委托诉讼代理人为自己提供法律服务的最早时间是自
根据有无内瘘口将甲状舌管瘘分为()和()瘘管两种类型。
张先生,60岁,因术中失血过多,医嘱:输入库血1200ml。输血后病人出现手术部位渗血较多,皮肤、黏膜多处可见明显瘀点、瘀斑,手足抽搐,血压下降。
A.沉淀反应B.凝集反应C.补体结合试验D.中和试验E.ELISA肥达反应属于
招标投标的公开原则包括( )。
对高层混凝土结构进行地震作用分析时,下述何项说法相对准确?
企业在资产负债表日,如果不能可靠估计所提供劳务的交易成果,已经发生的劳务成本聚集全部不能得到补偿,应( )。
下列最能体现幼儿平衡能力发展的活动是()
小区有6000住户,但是只有1000个车位,你来销售,怎么销售?
最新回复
(
0
)