Of central banks, King Canute and the rate tide

Central banks’ attempts to push back against swelling interest rate cut bets seem forlorn. — Reuters

LIKE medieval King Canute’s unsuccessful attempt to command the incoming tide to stop, central banks’ attempts to push back against swelling interest rate cut bets seem forlorn.

But like the story of the old Anglo-Norse monarch, there’s more to these old yarns than meets the eye. For many, the apocryphal tale of Canute ordering the tide to stop just illustrates foolish overconfidence in regal power.