However, Bill Dudley, Goldman's chief economist in New York, suggests that the conventional monetary-conditions index is misleading, because it ignores the stockmarket.

ECONOMIST: Loose change

However, Bill Dudley of Goldman Sachs argues that if the monetary-conditions index is adjusted to take account of the stockmarket, it paints a very different picture.

ECONOMIST: The stockmarket economy

For example, the Goldman Sachs monetary-conditions index (based on a weighted average of short-and long-term interest rates and the trade-weighted exchange rate) suggests that America's monetary policy is currently at its tightest since 1989, largely reflecting the strong dollar.

ECONOMIST: The stockmarket economy