"Americans will always do the right thing - after exhausting all the alternatives." Winston Churchill? Abba Eban? An Irishman? Apocryphal? For a history of the quote, see here.
When it comes to interest rates, inflation, and financial markets, that hopeful outcome is being sorely tested. We'll look at some current evidence of US economic trouble signs. But first, a few notes on the situation in Europe:
- Some $17 trillion in debt (partly Japanese but mostly European) is now trading at negative interest rates.
- In Europe, most sovereign debt of major countries is trading today