Jeanna Smialek
Review via The Economist
As covid-19 struck, markets were in meltdown and economic disaster loomed. The central bank swung into emergency mode, injecting vast, if not quite infinite, sums of cash into the financial system in order to avert a crisis… The actions worked a little too well. Before long, growth was recovering, markets were booming and price pressures were building. The Fed ended up having to fight America’s worst outbreak of inflation in decades—a fight that is ongoing. This sharp duality poses a dilemma for any appraisal of the Fed’s record during the pandemic… “Limitless” by Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times is a useful corrective. She provides a bracing account of just how badly things could have turned out when covid shutdowns led millions to lose their jobs overnight—and pushed the financial system to the brink of collapse.
