Interest rates: the musical

04/06/2015

Ever wondered what monetary policy would sound like if it was a piece of music? No? Well, here it is anyway: 70 years of US and UK interest rates ups and downs, with one month represented by one beat, and quarter-point changes given by semitones. You can see the year in the bottom right corner.

The sound reflects the sobriety of the postwar era, the rising crescendo of inflation during the 1970s and early 1980s, the volatility of boom-and-bust in the 1990s, then the calm before the financial storm before finally resolving to a funeral dirge following the crash.

It’ll grow on you 🙂

Created by Mark Rice-Oxley, Cath Levett and Caelainn Barr at theguardian.com, click here to see the original page.

Norman Ellis June 4, 2015

Loved it! As above so below…

Tony June 4, 2015

The bit at the end – after the crash when interest rates collapse and flatline – reminds of the display on a heart monitor when a patient dies.

Norman Ellis June 5, 2015

Cheery thought for the day!

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