Against the tide: Bernanke misses his chance

In both the US and the eurozone there is a failure to recognize that the crisis is about solvency not liquidity.

In August, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke disappointed markets when he declined to launch a new round of monetary easing to support the global economy, which is showing signs of stalling.

US growth has returned to what I have called the long grind, meaning a sub-2.5% pace. There are two drivers: fiscal contraction and deleveraging in the private sector to compensate for excessive leverage in the public sector. Fiscal and monetary splurges used to offset the aftermath of the credit crisis produce unsustainable increases in public debt and central bank balance sheets.

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