Tame US inflation carefully or risk some nasty side-effects

Paul Volcker's shock therapy in the 80s hollowed out American manufacturing and permanently boosted both Beijing and Wall Street

Down the ages there has been no shortage of central bankers intent on squeezing inflation out of the system, but Paul Volcker is in a class of his own.

Appointed by Jimmy Carter in 1979 when the US annual inflation rate was well into double digits, Volcker administered brutal shock treatment to the world's biggest economy, at one point pushing official interest rates above 20%. Fans of the 6ft 7in (2.04m) chairman of the Federal Reserve continue to be in awe of his single-minded approach to price stability. Volcker is the inflation hawks' hawk.