According to a survey asking Japanese firms why they have increased their IT-related budget, many answered that it was to improve business efficiency and cut costs. This is in contrast with U.S. firms, which have incorporated new technologies to encourage innovative initiatives such as developing products and services.
In due course, when monetary policy begins to normalise and uncertainty abates, forward guidance will also lose importance as a monetary policy instrument. Will the first step be to increase the interest rate on the ECB’s deposit facility from – 0.40% or the interest rate on the main refinancing operations from 0.00% – or both at the same time?