11 OCTOBER 1986, Page 29

To pieces, slowly

IT IS indeed a pleasure, or at least an instruction, to see the Bundesbank tun true to form. In the reign of Otmar Emminger Can optimistic central banker is one who believes that the world is going to pieces, but slowly'), whenever sterling came under pressure he could always be relied on to tell the world that the markets were exaggerating and the pound was under-valued. Close watchers came to notice that the Bundesbank never actually bought this supposedly cheap currency. Courtesy, then as now, cost nothing.