In Hindsight: Advice for the New Federal Reserve Chairman

Ben S. Bernanke will have some big shoes to fill when he succeeds Alan Greenspan as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve on February 1. Always one to help its former authors, FP combed through its archives to offer Bernanke some tips -- one of which will sound awfully familiar to him.

"A dollar collapse is likely, given how dependent the U.S. economy is on the constant inflow of funds from abroad. The Federal Reserve would then confront a central banker's nightmare: a recession, a weak dollar, and rising inflation all at once."
-- Martin Wolf
"After the Crash" (September/October 2000)

"A dollar collapse is likely, given how dependent the U.S. economy is on the constant inflow of funds from abroad. The Federal Reserve would then confront a central banker’s nightmare: a recession, a weak dollar, and rising inflation all at once."
— Martin Wolf
"After the Crash" (September/October 2000)

"[A]llowing inflation to fall too low — low enough to where it might morph into actual deflation — would be highly undesirable from the point of view of the Federal Reserve, or any other central bank for that matter."
— Ben S. Bernanke
"Downside Danger" (November/December 2003)

"A key challenge for Greenspan’s successor will be rebuilding private-sector savings. It’s a critical step if the United States is to close its balance-of-payments deficit and an essential insurance policy for an aging population of baby boomers nearing retirement."
— Stephen S. Roach
"Think Again: Alan Greenspan" (January/February 2005)

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