The stock market crash may have been...

The stock market crash may have been a blessing in disguise, former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker says. The Oct. 19 crash may have benefited the economy by forcing policy-makers to address long-range economic problems such as the U.S. budget and trade deficits, Volcker said in a speech at the University of Massachusetts. “In some sense, the stock market developments in themselves may be warning people, constructively I hope, and increasing our chances of wending our way forward without recession or inflation,” said Volcker, who resigned in August after an eight-year tenure at the Fed.