Speeches, Interviews, Essays

Inflation and Fed Funds “By raising rates, we are aiming to slow the economy and bring labor demand into better balance with supply. The intent is not a significant downturn. But restoring price stability remains the current imperative and it is clear that there is more work to do. I expect this will require additional…

“Monetary policy cannot address the specific reasons that low-income households suffer the most from high inflation. But these reasons help to illustrate the importance of low inflation: Low inflation is key to achieving a long and sustained expansion—an economy that works for all. Pursuing our dual mandate is the best way for the Federal Reserve…

“Today, I will discuss three important aspects of the Fed’s inclusion efforts that helps to inform policies and practices designed to advance financial access and capability: Access to a banking account; the availability of responsible small-dollar lending products for short term financial needs; and expanded reach of financial initiatives to Indigenous and native communities to…

Inflation “Inflation remains unacceptably high, well in excess of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) target of 2%. Thus far, the change in the monetary policy stance appears to have had only limited effects on observed inflation, but market pricing suggests disinflation is expected in 2023.” Restrictive Rate and Rate Hikes “My approach to this…

“And then I’ll give you my own personal view. Once we’re certain that inflation has really, we’ve hit the ceiling, then I feel like, Okay, we can take some time and let some of the catching up take place. Let’s see the full effects of our policy. But I need to be convinced that inflation…

Pause ”Pausing is off the table right now.  It’s not even part of the discussion.  I’d say right now the discussion is rightly in slowing the pace and putting the pace discussion in the background, focusing our attention on what is the level of interest rates that will end up being sufficiently restrictive.  I really…

Inflation “Though welcome news, we must be cautious about reading too much into one inflation report. I don’t know how sustained this deceleration in consumer prices will be. But, as a snapshot, the 0.3 percent increase in core CPI inflation in October from September, (actually 0.27 percent rounded up) works out to an annualized rate…

“These issues recall a longstanding debate over what should be done when there is a trade-off between monetary policy and financial stability goals. In the decade before the pandemic, this debate occurred in the context of inflation running persistently below the FOMC’s long-run 2 percent target.” “On one side, there were those who argued that…

Monetary Policy Lag “That happens gradually. A large body of research tells us it can take 18 months to two years or more for tighter monetary policy to materially affect inflation. You may be wondering: Why does it take so long?” “The US economy is a vast, complex ecosystem of interrelated forces. So, it takes…

Gas and Inflation “Gasoline prices spiked here, fell a bit, and are now back up again. OPEC Plus has further compounded our problems by announcing it will cut production, even in the face of elevated prices. We know that gas prices are incredibly important to consumers and responsible for much of the decline in consumer…