PRESS RELEASE

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QE Is Higher than Ever

Oct. 4, 2016 (EIRNS)—Just as the western financial press is openly admitting the collapse of the financial system, the Financial Times revealed today that the level of Quantitative Easing is hitting a record high for this last quarter of 2016.

"Central banks are embarking on the largest quarterly purchase of assets since quantitative easing was introduced following the financial crisis, as policymakers double down on monetary policy despite growing concern it has reached its limits,"

writes the Financial Times.

"In the final three months of the year, the UK, Japan and Europe are expected to mint a combined $506bn to purchase assets—the largest quarterly sum created since the early days of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s QE programme in 2009."

Since the Brexit vote, they note, the Bank of England (BoE) has joined the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan in cutting interest rates and creating money to buy assets, typically saying the purpose is to "spur investment" rather than bailing out the bankrupt banks.

Adding some humor, the FT reports that central bank governors, "including the BoE’s Mark Carney and ECB’s Mario Draghi," praise the QE as having "prevented catastrophe." They acknowledge, however, that the QE has

"pushed the collective balance sheets of G4 central banks to more than $13tn. Citi estimates that the collective balance sheets of central banks is [sic] now equal to about 40 per cent of global GDP, a move that is shrinking the universe of securities available for investment."