Bernanke’s grasp of economics weak, says Rogers

LONDON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke’s decision to pump a further $600 billion into the economy shows his grasp of economics is weak, said investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings.

“Bernanke unfortunately does not understand economics, he does not understand currencies, he does not understand finance,” Rogers, said in a lecture at Oxford University’s Balliol College on Thursday. “All he understands is printing money.” “His whole intellectual career has been based on the study of printing money,” he said. “Give the guy a printing press, he’s going to run it as fast as he can.”

The Fed said on November 3 it will buy an additional $600 billion of treasuries through June, in a bid to reduce unemployment and avert deflation. While Bernanke’s near-zero rates and $1.7 trillion in asset purchases helped end the recession, the Fed said progress has been “disappointingly slow” in bringing down joblessness that is close to a 26-year high.

“Debasing your currency has never worked,” said Rogers. David W Skidmore, a spokesman for the central bank in
Washington, didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. Rogers, who predicted the start of the global commodities rally in 1999, said investors should put money into “real” assets such as metals and agricultural products. He told students to scrap career plans for Wall Street or the City, London’s financial district, and to study agriculture and mining instead.

Rogers, who described the US as the most indebted country in history, declined to comment on the performance of his own investments in commodities. “I’m here to sell books,” said Rogers, who lives in Singapore. “My little girls need royalties,” he added, referring to his two daughters.

Rogers travelled the world by motorcycle and car in the 1990s researching investment ideas for his books, which include “Adventure Capitalist” (Random House/Wiley) and “Investment Biker.”