We wait to see what develops in Ukraine over the week-end after yesterday’s reported skirmishes set the cat amongst the pigeons and showed the extent of market fragility
From a humanitarian point of view we have to hope that no escalation is forthcoming but it seems unlikely at this point, and recent events/rhetoric have sadly pointed to this inevitable deteoriation.
Against this back drop, with ongoing events in the Middle East and elsewhere and the “should they/shouldn’t they” question of raising interest rates this article by the respected Anatole Kaletsky looks at the effectiveness of central banks and the dilemmas they face
As Stanley Fischer, the new vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board lamented on August 11 in his first major policy speech: “Year after year, we have had to explain from mid-year onwards why the global growth rate has been lower than predicted as little as two quarters back. … This pattern of disappointment and downward revision sets up the first, and the basic, challenge on the list of issues policymakers face in moving ahead: restoring growth, if that is possible.
Worth a read if only to note the Fischer/Carney/Draghi connection and as a reminder that these are difficult and crucial times
Full article, courtesy of Reuters here
