Commentary

Coping with lower interest rates for longer

Some will benefit, many others may not, but there are ways to mitigate the impact

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Last Wednesday, the United States Federal Reserve announced it will keep interest rates near zero for years until the US economy heals from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the labour market recovers.

The US stance of "lower for longer" on interest rates has also been widely adopted globally as central banks expand balance sheets in step with government fiscal support to prop up economies badly damaged by the pandemic.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 21, 2020, with the headline Coping with lower interest rates for longer. Subscribe