Quote from makloda:
I agree in principle. Rates below the rate of inflation should only be justified by a weak/stagnating economic outlook and only for very short periods of time (unlike 2002/2003).
However, all economic indicators now already do suggest severe weakness in the Eurozone, not only in Spain and Ireland but also in France and Germany. This by itself should tame inflation over the next 2-3 years. A series of hikes over the next couple quarters by the ECB - that I personally think Weber is determined to enforce - paired with the upcoming economic weakness will IMO likely end up destroying millions of jobs in Europe over the next couple years. That's the cost of 'making sure' the genie isn't let out of the bottle I guess.
Reminds me of the Bundesbank hikes in 1990/91. We all know how that ended.
i live in europe and could say the situation is worsening every day.
a impending real estate crash across the board will throw into poverty hundreds of thousands of europeans and the economic consequences could be vastly amplified by the anemic environment in the rest of the developed economies.
i understand the ecb though. their strategy has been voiced many times over in the past and sounds coherent : <b> inflation control </b> at any cost.i personally dont buy into the strategy of the fed: <b>pump & bail</b> but that's jmho. some believe that allows much faster correction of excesses and less prolonged contraction cycles. well the ecb prefers to have a more pronounced recession at the expense of cutting off the economic exuberance asap. keep in mind that the euro zone has a much more tight labor market which requires heavier shocks to produce adjustments.
