#1 I WIRTSCHAFTLICHE AUSGANGSSITUATION I ECONOMIC INITIAL SITUATION

The danger of easing monetary policy too early and allowing inflation to come back, as happened in the 1970s, already looms over the Fed. During a presidential campaign featuring Donald Trump, cutting rates too quickly could have even graver consequences. The cry would inevitably go up that officials had abandoned their mandate in an attempt to juice the economy, please voters and keep Mr Trump out of office.

And Mr Trump may well win, in which case he will probably pursue deficit-funded tax cuts, driving inflationary pressure yet higher and forcing the Fed to raise rates. Such a scenario is still, just about, speculative fiction. It is certainly not what investors expect. But when you look at their predictive record, that is hardly a comfort.

The second is that the collective wisdom of some of the world’s most sophisticated investors and traders is absolutely dreadful at predicting where interest rates will go.