The latest buying spree in the US has come to an end. As the markets expected, the Federal Reserve announced that it was finishing its third QE program that it started in March 2012, and the beneficial effects of this extreme measure in American monetary policy are clear.
In 2012, the unemployment rate in the United States was around 8%, which is very close to the nation's upper threshold of 10%. Now that figure has dropped to 5.9%, and the world's premier economy is one of the few places on earth to experience sustained growth, unlike Europe and the emerging economies.
The second round of QE spending had positive effects, too. GDP in the United States staid steady and got the nation out of a recession. The endgame of Bernanke's ambitious stimulus plan is overall outstanding. Still, his successor as Chairman of the Fed, Janet Yellen, has a lot of work ahead of her if she wants to bring back normal monetary policy to the US.
The EU is not a federal system like the US. That said, the United States can still inspire Europe in many ways. Foremost, the US has been crystal clear about what strategies it will take and assures that it will keep interest rates at zero for "a considerable time." Can the EU follow this lead?
