Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's influence over the US money supply - not to mention the world's stock markets - is enormous. But there can be no suggestion it is exercised from an ivory tower.

The Margin was intrigued to hear that Greenspan took a stroll through a riot-scarred section of southcentral Los Angeles earlier this week before addressing a conference of bankers and community activists.

He covered three blocks, two of which were fenced-off vacant lots strewn with weeds and garbage, before confiding to reporters: "We regulators are swamped with all sorts of data, which we pore through day after day. I think it's terribly important to look at what is under the data. It's important to put a face on the numbers." Indeed.