Tinker, Taper: The Fed Would Be Wise to Walk Slowly

“HE’S already stayed a lot longer than he wanted.” Barack Obama’s remark in a TV interview this week fuelled speculation that Ben Bernanke, whose second term as Federal Reserve chairman expires early next year, would soon leave the central-banking game. As Mr Bernanke laboured to communicate the Fed’s goals to journalists on June 19th, after the close of its policymaking committee’s latest meeting, who could blame him for longing to return to academia?