Omicron may be uncertain, but inflation is a sure thing for economies

Omicron raises questions about the strength of demand in the event lockdowns are renewed and people have to wait for a whole new vaccine.

What once looked overzealous now appears prudent. Central banks that moved early to pare back stimulus and hike interest rates may have made the right call after all. While we wait for scientists and medical authorities to gauge how big a risk Covid-19’s omicron variant poses to public health, inflation is a sure thing. The global recovery hasn’t lost significant momentum--yet.

Policy makers need to respond to what's in front of them. Sure, they could wait. And wait. But the pandemic never offered simple choices. This helps explain why Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks Tuesday that the central bank may