By now, it is passé to warn that the US Federal Reserve is “behind the curve” in fighting inflation. In fact, the Fed is so far behind that it can’t even see the curve and may have to slam on the policy brakes to regain control before it is too late.

NEW HAVEN – The US Federal Reserve has turned on a dime, an uncharacteristic about-face for an institution long noted for slow and deliberate shifts in monetary policy. While the Fed’s recent messaging (it hasn’t really done anything yet) is not as <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fed-still-wrongly-assumes-inflation-is-transitory-by-stephen-s-roach-2021-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">creative</a> as I had hoped, at least it has recognized that it has a serious problem.

While the Fed’s recent messaging (it hasn’t really done anything yet) is not as creative as I had hoped, at least it has recognized that it has a serious problem. That problem, of course, is inflation.

The Fed Is Playing with Fire

By allowing the European Central Bank to intervene directly and deeply in capital markets, the EU’s approach to climate change is violating basic principles of sound economic policymaking. Fortunately, its embrace of a once-maligned clean energy source shows that it hasn’t abandoned common sense altogether.

MUNICH – With its 2020 “taxonomy for sustainable activities,” the European Union found a way to use the European Central Bank to steer capital markets by directly subsidizing interest expenses for “green” investment projects. Many European politicians, especially those from Green parties in German-speaking countries, have applauded this approach. But now, they are dismayed to find that the European Commission, under pressure from France, will <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">classify nuclear power</a> as a type of green energy.

In terms of the broader climate agenda, Green politicians made a huge mistake when they demonized nuclear power, and the rest of the world has recognized this.

Green Nuclear Power

When eurozone finance ministers recently issued a joint paean to the single currency on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the introduction of euro banknotes and coins, something remarkable happened: Nothing. No one joined in the celebrations, and no one cared enough to dissent.

ATHENS – Twenty years ago this month, Europe’s common currency became a tangible reality with the introduction of euro banknotes and coins. To mark the occasion, eurozone finance ministers issued a <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/12/31/reflections-on-20-years-of-the-euro-joint-article-by-eurogroup-members/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joint statement</a> that called the currency “one of the most tangible achievements of European integration.” In fact, the euro did nothing to promote European integration. Quite the contrary.

The key question is not why the euro failed to bring about convergence, but rather why anyone thought it would. A look at three pairs of well-integrated economies offers useful insights.

How the Euro Divided Europe

By openly predicting that Russian President Vladimir Putin will follow through on his threat to invade Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has signaled that the West is prepared to abandon that country to its fate. The situation called for extreme, credible deterrence, not symbolic gestures and cryptic threats.

WARSAW – After a long, mysterious silence, US President Joe Biden has spoken out about the ever-increasing concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. He would have been better off keeping quiet, given his astonishing and dangerous message. NATO officials – and his own aides – have had to scramble to redefine the meaning of his words.

In Russia, Biden is considered a weak president, and Kremlin bureaucrats see his lack of leadership as an opportunity for action. Biden just confirmed their view. Trickling in a few more troops is not a policy; it is an alibi.

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