Don’t ask me why, but this week’s European Central Bank meeting got me thinking about a meme from The Simpsons. The one with the bus driver who silently taps a sign reading “Don’t talk to the driver” every time a passenger strikes up conversation. Christine Lagarde could have saved herself a lot of effort this week by doing much the same. A gentle tap on a banner saying “We’re hiking in June unless energy prices collapse” would probably have covered most of the questions. She didn’t put it quite that bluntly, of course. But she did say the Governing Council had a lengthy discussion about hiking. She said the ECB is ... (full story)