In my public ‘conversation' with Paul Volcker at Central Banking's annual awards ceremony last week, we discussed the controversy about the Fed's ‘tapering' of asset purchases. The former Federal Reserve chairman said he was "perplexed" by the criticism of the Fed and the complaints that it should have "consulted" with emerging markets before making even a tiny move (referring to the initial reduction in the size of monthly asset purchases).

But you can't consult with countries round the world