Buttonwood’s notebook | Central bankers

Fallible beings

We place a lot of faith in central bankers, but they have been wrong in the past

By Buttonwood

A LOT of faith is placed in the wisdom of central bankers, by politicians and investors. The former hope that monetary policy can prop up the economy while they attempt to reduce budget deficits; the latter tend to buy equities as soon as they think central bankers are easing.

But it is worth remembering that central bankers are fallible. I've quoted Ben Bernanke before, asked about the possibility of a housing bubble in July 2005

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