Of Central Banks & Cricket

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Two pieces from this weekend's FT Weekend bylines stand out for me: 'Markets' with Merryn Somerset Webb on central banks, and 'Lunch With The FT', an interview with the great Michael Holding. In the former, Somerset Webb argues that central banks are suffering what she feels is regrettable 'mission-creep' as they seek to enter wider debate on politics, society and climate-change.

In the latter, Holding, who I hold in the very highest esteem as a sportsman, commentator and outspoken advocate of Black Lives Matter; a fast bowler probably still never equalled in cricket; argues pretty much the same about the sport of which he was most definitely a pivotal participant in the first-class game's finest era. He considers the short-form of the game: one-day, T20 and now The Hundred (which he dismisses out of hand, having not bothered to even engage with it) as debasing the true game of cricket. I totally agree: the three-day county and five-day test match format is what the game is truly about; a complex tussle between two sides that may or may not result in a victory for either side, five-day draws almost as common as a win. I think we all understand the commercial need for the short-form, but it must never be at the expense of the true game.

On the central banking front, Somerset Webb proposes that central banks are drifting more and more into realms she feels are inappropriate: politics and the environment in particular. She's bang on in saying that they are collectively partly culpable in the increase in inequality, with the über-rich benefiting particularly from recent rather liberal applications of financial and fiscal intervention. But where she falls down is in criticising the banks for their aspirations in intervening on climate change. She seems to hold that climate change is merely a factor in market change: interest rates, inflation, etc. The point she seems to be missing is that unchecked, climate change (and pandemic disease) will take us all down and the 'markets' with us. I think the central banks know this, and it's time the pundits caught up with them.

Comments

  1. Helen29 August 2021 at 22:55

    Michael Holding lives not far from us and he has been known to pop up to our village cricket match on a Sunday afternoon and do a bit of umpiring when he has spare time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sideways30 August 2021 at 13:53

      I'm seriously jealous - that West Indies side was the best of all time...

      Delete

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