This past week, Ben Bernanke was in London promoting his book "Courage to Act". Today, Albert Edwards at Societe Generale pinged me with his thoughts.

Edwards writes ... 

 Ben Bernanke is in London to publicise his book 'The Courage to Act'. Although the various open events would have been fascinating, I thought it best not to attend. I would not have been able to control myself. In a repeat of the protest at the April ECB press conference I would have probably stormed the stage, thrown confetti money at him and been unceremoniously dragged out by security. But speaking to people who were there and reading the pre-vetted Q&A on the web, reminded me just how overconfident central bankers are to their very core – even after their actions are clearly ruinous. Bernanke again paraded his lack of insight of the Fed's leading role in causing the 2008 crisis. Indeed he was self-congratulatory about the Fed's success in averting another Great Depression, not accepting that they almost actually caused it! Central bankers are doomed to repeat the same mistake until they acknowledge their role in the last crisis and stop blaming everybody else. Unfortunately it now appears from recent comments that ECB President Mario Draghi is also demonstrating the same hubris. Indeed it is becoming clear that ECB QE is already failing.