Thus the Financial Times today. “Unlimited new effort to drive economic recovery,” elaborates the newspaper. Congrats, Ben! Given recent news of the same ilk from the European Central Bank, both America and Europe are covered by unlimited money printing. Congrats, Mario! Now the investors all around the globe have every reason to be happy. And the stockmarket spikes testify to that happiness, unlimited as it is at the moment. What next, though? Investors appear not to be very bright, but they are not all that stupid, either. Powerful as they are, central banks are not omnipotent. They can do this and that, including quantitative easing, but they cannot perform miracles. The trouble with so-called recovery both in America and Europe is that it is hardly a recovery at all. Among other things, stubborn unemployment figures testify to that. And so does moribund construction activity. Depression is in the air, to put it squarely. As for the Ben and Mario show, congrats all around! Returning to the happy investors, though, the tired but trusted adage comes readily to mind, albeit slightly modified: “It’s is the real economy, stupid!”

Addendum (September 14, 2012)

The Financial Times has changed the title of the article in question before the end of the day: “Bernanke takes a plunge with QE3.” A great title, too. The remainder, concerning the unlimited new effort to drive economic recovery, remained the same. To my own surprise, I am quite pleased with the change. It puts the emphasis where it is required. Congrats to the crafty newspaper!