Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Over the last year, the world’s major central banks have tightened their policies more rapidly than has been seen in decades, ending an era of ultra-low interest rates that had become a basic assumption across global commerce and finance.
We are now in the early stages of a slow-moving process of markets, companies and governments adapting and readjusting to that reality.
Why it matters: Events like the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in March and the debt and currency market freakout over a British fiscal plan last fall are not so much isolated blowups, but early examples of what could be a rolling series of mini-crises in the coming months and years.
So far, those mini-crises have been well-contained. Last fall, the British government reversed course and the Bank of England intervened to prevent a collapse of pension funds. The American authorities last month protected…
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