Trump and Turkey Threaten Heyday of Central Bank Independence

The heyday of central bank independence now lies behind us, Pacific Investment Management Co. is Joachim Fels declared Saturday. He is not alone among economists in delivering the last rites after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired his country is top monetary policy maker and President Donald Trump continued to attack Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for raising interest rates too high. Even the European Central Bank, which is generally viewed as the institution most protected from politics, felt a bit of heat over the weekend as the head of Germany is ruling Christian Democratic party said incoming ECB chief Christine Lagarde should shift monetary policy to make it comply with the bank is inflation-targeting mandate.