Going beyond the central bank "put"

In essence, we are seeing the rollback of three decades of globalization-a period when goods and, to a lesser extent, people, moved with increasing freedom across the world

The moral hazard created by the “Bernanke Put” and the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP in 2008 is still exerting a malign influence over global markets in 2019. In 2008, the Federal Reserve and the US treasury department took desperate measures to stem the rot as the full dimensions of the subprime crisis became apparent.

The Fed expanded its balance sheet, pumping money into the global system by buying bonds.  TARP focused on cleaning up toxic assets. Other central banks followed in the wake of the Fed with rate cuts, quantitative easing (QE) and other liquidity-enhancing measures. Governments deployed counter