“Either central banks are wrong to keep rates low,” you pithily assess the current rally in risky assets, “or markets are wrong to expect recovery” (“Something’s Gotta Give,” November 21, 2009). Precisely. Low interest rates cannot be good for investors if central banks keep them down for too long. If central banks are judging the recovery too fragile, the rally will ultimately end in a flop. Alternatively, if they are underestimating the rally’s potential, this will boost inflationary pressures. As you put it, markets will have a tricky time navigating between this Scylla and Charybdis in the coming months. Exactly. But a large part of the problem lies with central banks, which seem to be led by the Fed. Driving the prime rate to zero in no time and then holding it there forever is hardly a way to let markets get proper bearings. In other words, the times would be much less tricky were central banks to play interest rates with a bit more subtlety.