Mervyn King: "Quantitative easing will work"

Comments

[Andrew Smith]

Well it all depends on what you mean by "work". It will certainly cause increased inflation over time. The consequence will be a transfer of wealth from those who saved rather than binged during the past decade.

Let's just recall too that the binge of spending, both at central government level and in the asset markets, was facilitated by the silence of the Governor of the BoE. He should have pointed out the dangers, with apparent (redefined) inflation low only because of low prices from newly industrialising China.

And MK was wrong too about the effectiveness of the Brown regulatory structure, at least he did nothing to stop it or improve it. A BoE agent told me in a semi-public meeting there had been no game playing in the BoE to test its procedures in a less benign environment that appeared to hold until about 3 years ago. On Merv's watch!

And those with longer memories will also recall he was wrong when he wrote to Chancellor Howe about his cuts to HMG spending in the early 1980s.

A splurge of cash is not the answer to any sensible question and to say it will "work" rather begs the question of what a central bank's duty is or should be. The legal position is they the BoE is to control inflation at the level directed; he has failed to lead the MPC to achieve that goal.

How much longer before he is fired? Before or after Osborne has trades unionists to number eleven to harange them about causing inflation. I predict 7-8 per cent before the next election.

[It doesn't add up...]

You don't need to be Wayne Rooney's father to know to bet against this one.

[Martin Sewell]

Will he resign if he is wrong?

[Malcolm Wood]

If David Cameron hadn't given £11billion of our money away to foreign countries, Mervyn King would only have had to find £64billion for his QE exercise

[David Hollins]

Much like the BoE inflation forecasts have always been right. Sack the lot of them.