Europe's decade-long experiment with negative interest rates, which ended on Thursday with the Swiss National Bank's return to positive territory, showed one thing: they can exist beyond the realms of economic science fiction. With interest rates back then already close to zero, they had run out of conventional ammunition to ward off the threat of outright deflation they feared would choke off the economic recovery. "It's the central bankers who have taken interest rates to a level where we attach no value to the future," he said. As the negative rate era closes, the global pool of assets with negative yield has shrunk to less than $2 trillion from a 2020 peak of some $18 trillion. "I am very doubtful anyone here is ready to say never again for negative rates."

Source: News 24 September 25, 2022 23:17 UTC