Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan once said there wasn’t much that central bankers could do about asset-price bubbles because it’s too hard to spot them until after they have burst.
Near-zero interest rates are driving investors to search for meaningful returns on their money by piling their cash into higher-risk investments. Sales of everything from corporate bonds to structured products that use derivatives to boost returns are soaring. Commodities, mergers and acquisitions, government bonds -- all are attracting inflows of cheap money.
