The Fed vs. the Financiers
US Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke has long argued that central banks should ignore fluctuations in equity and housing prices, unless there is clear and compelling evidence of dangerous feedback into output and inflation. But, because central bankers cannot know what output and inflation are in real time, they must consider the information embedded in asset prices.
In his August 31 address to the world’s most influential annual monetary policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke coolly explained why the Fed is determined to resist pressure to stabilize swooning equity and housing prices. Bernanke’s principled position – echoed by European Central Bank head Jean Claude Trichet and Bank of England head Mervyn King – has set off a storm in markets, accustomed to the attentive pampering lavished on them by Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan.
In his August 31 address to the world’s most influential annual monetary policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke coolly explained why the Fed is determined to resist pressure to stabilize swooning equity and housing prices. Bernanke’s principled position – echoed by European Central Bank head Jean Claude Trichet and Bank of England head Mervyn King – has set off a storm in markets, accustomed to the attentive pampering lavished on them by Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan.