The BCA conference in 2006, typically a lively event, took an unsettling turn when Harvard professor Niall Ferguson posed a provocative question. He highlighted the lack of market reactions to significant global events such as the assassination of a Russian central banker, a coup in Thailand, and a nuclear test by North Korea. This inquiry hinted at deeper issues in the financial system and market psychology.

In her book "Fed Up: An Insider's Take on Why the Federal Reserve is Bad for America," author Danielle DiMartino Booth reflects on these phenomena, suggesting that the Federal Reserve's policies might be distorting the natural responses of financial markets to geopolitical instability. The questioning of market resilience in the face of crisis points to a larger discourse about the impact of monetary policy on economic behavior.