German central bank president resigns - the last thing holding interest rates low?
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 @ 7:21 PM
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has resigned 5 years before his scheduled end of term, citing "personal reasons", which is another way of saying "i couldn't do my job anymore" :-) Weidmann was known for being a "hawk", i.e. he encouraged fiscal discipline and was critical of the mainly southern members of the EU and their policies. With him out of the way, Mario Draghi and Christine Lagarde might very well feel that they can increase the printing press with the usual excuses (Covid, banks, environmental needs, etc) in order to increase liquidity in the Eurozone, even though the risk of inflation is evident already in fuel and food prices. Enquiring minds wonder if this is the moment where interest rates will shoot up in anticipation of deliberate higher inflation - Weidmann's sudden departure strongly hints at this. I personally will surely be watching closely, in order to lock in some fixed rate on my mortgage, if I see signs of the ECB leaning towards loose money standards (again). Or maybe load up on a fat loan and buy a Ferrari or a fancy Marbella properrty :-)
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