A Big Week for Central Banks

Today’s gathering of the Fed’s policy committee in Washington kicks off a big week for central bankers as financial markets are expecting some sort of action from the Fed, the Bank of England, and the European Central bank to bolster their respective economies (stock markets seem to have already been bolstered by expectations of more money printing, part of the ongoing game of chicken being played by these two groups).

In today’s Heat Rises on Central Banks($) at the Wall Street Journal, the following summary graphic is provided so that everyone knows where things stand – about the only thing missing in the graphic below is a chart of stock prices laid up against central bank asset purchases.

How financial markets see things (and how the game of chicken is being played) is, perhaps, best exemplified by these two headlines gracing the front page at CNBC.com today:

• Wall Street Now Almost Certain Fed and ECB Will Act
  
• Markets Could Lose ‘Quite a Few Percent’ on Easing Disappointment