Germany Blasts 'Powers of the Fed'

peaceandlove · 06-03-2009, 01:18 PM

Germany Blasts 'Powers of the Fed'

June 3, 2009

In a speech on Tuesday in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed 'great skepticism' over the clout of central banks and suggested their aggressive moves in Europe, the U.S. and the U.K. might backfire. She is shown here at a rally later in Saarbrücken, Germany, for European Parliamentary elections.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare public rebuke of central banks, suggested the European Central Bank and its counterparts in the U.S. and Britain have gone too far in fighting the financial crisis and may be laying the groundwork for another financial blowup.

"I view with great skepticism the powers of the Fed, for example, and also how, within Europe, the Bank of England has carved out its own small line," Ms. Merkel said in a speech in Berlin. "We must return together to an independent central-bank policy and to a policy of reason, otherwise we will be in exactly the same situation in 10 years' time."

Ms. Merkel also said the ECB "bowed somewhat to international pressure" when it said last month it plans to buy €60 billion ($85 billion) in corporate bonds -- a move that is modest in comparison to asset-buying by its counterparts, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. Details are to be unveiled by the ECB's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, Thursday.

The public criticism is unusual -- and not only because German politicians rarely talk harshly about central banks in public. When politicians around the world do criticize their central banks, they almost always gripe that they are too tightfisted.

Continues: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/wire.php?view=5673

06-03-2009, 01:18 PM	#1
peaceandlove Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Turtle Island Posts: 2,776	Germany Blasts 'Powers of the Fed' Germany Blasts 'Powers of the Fed' June 3, 2009 In a speech on Tuesday in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed 'great skepticism' over the clout of central banks and suggested their aggressive moves in Europe, the U.S. and the U.K. might backfire. She is shown here at a rally later in Saarbrücken, Germany, for European Parliamentary elections. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare public rebuke of central banks, suggested the European Central Bank and its counterparts in the U.S. and Britain have gone too far in fighting the financial crisis and may be laying the groundwork for another financial blowup. "I view with great skepticism the powers of the Fed, for example, and also how, within Europe, the Bank of England has carved out its own small line," Ms. Merkel said in a speech in Berlin. "We must return together to an independent central-bank policy and to a policy of reason, otherwise we will be in exactly the same situation in 10 years' time." Ms. Merkel also said the ECB "bowed somewhat to international pressure" when it said last month it plans to buy €60 billion ($85 billion) in corporate bonds -- a move that is modest in comparison to asset-buying by its counterparts, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. Details are to be unveiled by the ECB's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, Thursday. The public criticism is unusual -- and not only because German politicians rarely talk harshly about central banks in public. When politicians around the world do criticize their central banks, they almost always gripe that they are too tightfisted. Continues: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/wire.php?view=5673