Latest Speech

Remarks before the Washington Association of Money Managers Washington, D.C. May 28, 2009 "A keen student of the H.4.1 and the Foreign and International Monetary Authority (FIMA) custody holdings reports of the Fed will detect that foreign official holdings of U.S. Treasuries and agencies have been growing at a robust pace, not shrinking."

Other Recent Speeches

Back from the Abyss: Now What?
Remarks before the 125th Annual Convention of the Texas Bankers Association
San Antonio, Texas
May 15, 2009
"The most recent reports indicate that job losses may be slowing; trucking companies—a group often looked to as a leading indicator—report a slight pickup in sales; purchasing managers are reporting that the pace of decline in new orders has abated; and retail sales are getting slightly less worse. These are encouraging signs. But we are not out of the woods. We have miles to go before we sleep."

The Economic Predicament of the United States and the Federal Reserve’s Response in a Globalized World
Remarks before Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management
Beijing, China
April 17, 2009
"The Federal Reserve is in the process of acquiring the tools to short-circuit any inflationary consequences of its balance sheet growth."

The Economic Situation of the United States and the Federal Reserve’s Response
Remarks before the Japan Center for Economic Research, Institute for International Monetary Affairs and Japanese Bankers Association
Tokyo, Japan
April 8, 2009
"But it is clear to me that in this environment, inflation is unlikely to present a serious threat given the pervasive bias in the U.S. economy toward wage cuts and freezes, rising unemployment, the widespread loss in wealth that has resulted from both the housing and equity market corrections, continually declining consumption and business investment, and the anemic condition of the banking and credit system, all of which reinforce downside price pressures in a global economy groaning with excess capacity."

Excerpts from “Comments on the Current Financial Crisis”
Remarks before the Ninth Annual R.I.S.E. (Redefining Investment Strategy Education) Forum
March 26, 2009
"Here is a take-home quote from Charles Mackay's classic tome Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, written in 1841: 'Men think in herds … [and] they go mad in herds.' Just as the astute investor should have resisted joining the thundering herd's mad euphoria, I suggest you resist joining in the current stampede of despair."

Comments on the Current Financial Crisis (an Abridged Version)
Remarks before the 2009 Global Supply Chain Conference
Fort Worth, Texas
March 4, 2009
"If, in the process of doing what is right and proper by confining its activity to its singular purpose, the Federal Reserve becomes a 'nuisance,' so be it. The Fed under Paul Volcker's leadership was certainly a 'nuisance,' but you would be hard-pressed to find anyone alive today who would argue the fact that the Volcker Fed pulled the nation from the precipice of economic calamity. It is important that the Federal Reserve be left to do its job and no more."

Albert H. Gordon Lecture: Comments on the Current Financial Crisis
Remarks at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
Cambridge, Massachusetts
February 23, 2009
"It may seem like the stuff of the wildest dreams to imagine our getting ourselves out from our current nightmarish predicament. But I believe we can and we will. We are Americans. I believe deep in my soul that when put to the test, Americans rise to the occasion no matter how great the challenge. We have done it time and again. We have no choice but to do it once more, now."

The Fed's Response to the Current Economic Challenge (With References to Gershon Bleichröder and Central Bank Independence)
Remarks Before CERAWeek
Houston, Texas
February 9, 2009
"Our senators and congressmen and -women must find a way to give our economic engine an activating short-term jolt without encumbering or disincentivizing the entrepreneurial dynamic that has made for the long-term economic miracle that is America."

Historical Perspectives on the Current Economic and Financial Crisis (With Reference to Paul Volcker, Washington Irving, Walter Bagehot, Mother Caris, Rube Goldberg and Bismarck)
Remarks before the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations
Dallas, Texas
December 18, 2008
"We are the nation's central bank and we are duty bound to apply every tool we can to clean up the mess that has soiled the face of our financial system and get back on the track of sustainable economic growth with price stability. The men and women of the Federal Reserve spend every waking hour doing their level best to perform their duty. Even if we have to deploy a little Rube Goldberg engineering to get the task done."

The Current State of the U.S. Economy and the Fed’s Response (With Reference to Irrational Exuberance and Virgil’s Aeneid)
Remarks before the Texas Cattle Feeders Association
Grapevine, Texas
November 4, 2008

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