Yesterday, 18 December, the ECB, the Bank of England, the Riksbank and Norges Bank all announced monetary policy decisions. While each operates under its own mandate and faces domestic constraints, their decisions are best read together. The global economy is tightly integrated, and inflation and economic activity tend to move together across countries. Central banks are therefore often responding to similar positions in the business cycle, even when local conditions differ. This makes cross-country comparisons informative. A policy move by one central bank may signal that others are approaching a similar decision, ... (full story)