US: Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan dies aged 100
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has died today at the age of 100 from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. The announcement was made by his wife, NBC News journalist Andrea Mitchell. Appointed Chairman of the US central bank in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, Greenspan led the US central bank until 2006, steering it through periods of economic boom and recession. His tenure was the second longest in the Fed’s history, surpassed only by that of William McChesney Martin. His most famous statement dates back to 5 December 1996, when, speaking about the difficulties of monetary policy, he wondered whether ‘irrational exuberance’ might be inflating the values of financial assets excessively. The markets interpreted the remark as a warning that share prices were overvalued, triggering a wave of profit-taking on the world’s major stock exchanges. However, the rally continued until the dot-com bubble burst in 2001.
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