Europe's central banks still playing catch-up in meltdown

By DION NISSENBAUM - McClatchy Newspapers PARIS -- At the end of Europe's worst financial week in decades, after repeated and failed attempts to halt the tailspin of global markets and restore trust in economic leaders, some European economists are throwing up their hands in frustration. "What to do to restore confidence is something you should perhaps ask a psychologist," Jean-Christophe Caffet, an analyst at France's Natixis Bank, said Friday. "The key driver here is confidence, and ... we don't have a way to bring confidence." As finance leaders meet this weekend in Washington to try once again to develop a unified strategy, there are increasing calls for bold new steps to turn things around. "The problem at the moment is central banks have been a bit behind the curve," said George Buckley, the chief U.K. economist for... [read full story]