, Columnists
Welcome to the Scary, New Inflationary World
With the end the Great Moderation, policymakers will struggle to contain violent price swings.
Stars of a bygone era of central banking.
Photographer: Diana Walker/The Chronicle CollectionThis article is for subscribers only.
The world looked on in horror last week as the UK’s market collapse prompted the Bank of England to reverse its plans for quantitative tightening with a spectacular intervention in the gilt market — “on whatever scale is necessary” — to save the nation’s pensions system.
So far, this appears to be a uniquely British debacle. But what if the UK isn’t an outlier and, by dint of Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-fated dash for growth, is instead merely the first to reflect a new global reality?