Central banks saved the world and will again

Central banks will occupy an ever-more important position in the economic and security life of nations, if history is any guide. — Bloomberg

TO hear it from bulls, the newborn year already belongs to central banks. Reviled not long ago for letting prices surge, Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell and his peers have been anointed by traders as saviors of the world.

Those clapping the loudest probably don’t know how right they are. The widely predicted global recession has yet to occur, inflation is coming down quickly, and interest-rate cuts are projected.