Another financial meltdown on the horizon? | TheHill: "And you thought that last global financial crisis was bad. A report issued on Sunday by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) warns that policymakers have failed to address the root problems that caused the 2007-2008 financial meltdown. Instead of taking a long-term perspective aimed at increasing real economic productivity and output — the kind that actually benefits people by raising living standards — government officials have sought to pump up the numbers through monetary and fiscal stimulus. As a result, we now have an alarming disconnect between the performance of global equity markets, which are booming, and an underlying world economy that is merely limping along. While major stock exchanges around the world have experienced spectacular returns — Standard & Poor's 500 Index went up 30 percent last year — real-world economic growth came in at a meager 3 percent for the first quarter of 2014... When the BIS chastises policymakers for masking structural deficiencies and long-run misallocations of economic resources by resorting to the quick monetary fixes of quantitative easing and zero-interest rates — well, it should get their attention. And when the report suggests that short-term policy responses to the last crisis may be "creating a bigger one down the road," the red lights should start flashing...." (read more at link above)
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