How has the Bank of England dealt with four years of shocks?

Seven DAYS after Andrew Bailey became governor of the Bank of England in March 2020, Britain’s first covid-19 lockdown began. Storms have kept coming. The economy has had to endure two more supply shocks (the completion of Brexit and a leap in energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine); a demand boost (post-pandemic fiscal stimulus); and a bond-market blowup (after Liz Truss’s reckless mini-budget in September 2022). Any central banker would want calmer weather.Halfway through Mr Bailey’s eight-year term, how has the bank fared? Judged by its main job, maintaining price stability, direly. The annual inflation rate has exceeded the bank’s target, 2%, for almost three years, peaking at 11.1% in late 2022 before falling to 3.4% in February. The core rate—excluding food and energy—is at 4.5%.