The Fear Factor in Today’s Interest Rates
Atlantic-hugging policymakers and pundits, buffered by a continent and a large ocean, may not fully appreciate the significant effect on global financial markets that the threat posed by North Korea has had in recent months. But competition for safe assets has clearly heated up.
CAMBRIDGE β Many who attended grade school during the Cold War will remember what they were instructed to do in the event of a nuclear attack. When the siren wailed, US students were told, one should βduck and cover.β Apparently, squatting under your desk with your arms covering your head would save you from nuclear annihilation. If only it were so.