Central banks slip into the shadows

Central banks have long been the lead policy actors in world markets and economies, but they are stepping back into supporting roles as governments grab the limelight. In less than two months, the avowedly disruptive new U.S. administration has prompted a dramatic re-casting of the global economic script, upending economic forecasts and cross-border investment flows around the world. The sweeping trade wars Donald Trump's government has unleashed and the fracturing of decades-old U.S. political and military alliances have forced a generational shift in German and European fiscal policy, while encouraging China to step up stimulus measures to meet its restated…