The anxiety of the small saver in a world of negative interests
A year ago I wrote a series of articles on monetary policy action by central banks in recent decades. I began by summarizing the state of affairs of a global economy in which central banks have acquired an enormous role so much so that their continuous interventions, first conventional and then "extraordinary", have become an everyday economic reality. While their role in managing the global financial crisis was key as they avoided a collapse in the liquidity of the system that would have undoubtedly aggravated the depression, their effectiveness in facilitating a return to growth, job creation, global deleveraging, financial sector risk reduction, sustainability of public finances and structural imbalances in their respective states is doubtful...