Markets/economy: confusion reigns

Shares are having a choppy week. Most of the leading indices are down 2-3% from their recent peaks. But it’s too early to say whether the markets have merely paused briefly or reached the end of their long run. Stocks in Europe and the US are up by 35-50% since March. One thing is clear. A collection of revolutionary fiscal, monetary and corporate policy experiments has helped stop the GDP freefall which started last September. This favourable change in economic direction – and the cash created...