John C. Williams’ Speeches

Presentation to the Center for Economics and Public Policy
UC Irvine
Irvine, California

Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here in Salt Lake City. Today, I will talk about the economy, noting some of the welcome improvements we’ve seen lately, as well as some serious threats to the recovery. I’ll have a few words to say about the ongoing European financial crisis and our own budgetary challenges. And I’ll present my forecast for the economy. I’ll end my remarks by discussing the steps the Federal Reserve has taken to bolster economic growth and move our economy towards our congressionally mandated goals of maximum employment and price stability. In particular, I want to explain […]

Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to speak to the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco. My subject is how the U.S. economy is doing and where it’s heading. I’ll highlight where things are improving as well as some of the things that are holding us back. In doing so, I’ll take both a short-term and long-term look at the impact of fiscal policy on the economy. I’ll finish by going over measures we at the Federal Reserve recently announced aimed at boosting growth and getting us closer to our goals of maximum employment and price stability. As always, my remarks represent […]

Good afternoon.  It’s a pleasure to be here at the City Club.  This beautiful building connects us with San Francisco’s history as a center of commerce and finance, which makes it a great place to give a talk about the economy.  My subject is how the U.S. economy is doing and where it’s heading.  I’ll take a close look at why the recovery has so far been somewhat lackluster, and I’ll go over measures we at the Federal Reserve recently announced aimed at boosting growth and getting us closer to our goals of maximum employment and price stability.  As always, my […]

Good afternoon. I’m delighted to be with you in the City of Roses, which is at its most beautiful this time of year. Unfortunately, my schedule is keeping me indoors most of the time, so most of my views of Mt. Hood have been through office windows. Of course, you didn’t come to hear me praise Portland’s scenic wonders. My subject today is the economy. In my talk, I’ll outline how it is doing and where it appears to be heading. I’ll explain some of the factors holding us back. And I’ll discuss some of the major risks that threaten even […]

Good morning.  It is a pleasure to be with you in Coeur d’Alene, which is truly a scenic gem.  One of the things I most enjoy about my job representing the nine western states in the Federal Reserve System is the opportunity to visit many of the most beautiful parts of our country. I’ve been invited to give a talk on the economy.  This morning, I’ll outline how the economy is doing and where it appears to be heading.  I’ll explain some of the factors holding us back.  And I’ll discuss some of the major risks that threaten even my subdued […]

Good morning. I’m very pleased to be in such eminent company, especially that of my former advisor at Stanford, John Taylor. And I’ll begin my presentation with a reference to another pathbreaking monetary theorist. Milton Friedman famously said, “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.”1 We are currently engaged in a test of this proposition. Over the past four years, the Federal Reserve has more than tripled the monetary base, a key determinant of money supply. […]

Good morning. I’m delighted to welcome you to the San Francisco Fed for our biennial international Asian Banking and Finance conference. Over the years, we’ve brought together policymakers, bankers, academics, and regulators to examine how global economic and financial trends are playing out in Asia. We initiated this conference series back in 2007, ten years after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. This is our fourth gathering, and the theme this year is “Challenges in Global Finance: The Role of Asia.” There is no shortage of important topics to explore over the next two days, particularly in light of […]

Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be with you today. You know, I’m a big Giants fan, and I’m thrilled to visit Tim Lincecum’s hometown. Now, Timmy is having a tough start this season. But I have great faith in his ability to bounce back. The subject of my talk is another story about getting back on track—but this one concerns our nation’s economy. We are now nearly three years into a recovery from a very severe recession. We’ve made up a lot of ground. But the aftereffects of that terrible downturn are still with us, particularly an unacceptably high […]

Good morning. It’s a great pleasure to be with you at the 121st annual convention of the California Bankers Association. This is my first opportunity as president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank to meet with the CBA. I look forward to continuing the productive relationship we’ve built between our two organizations over the years. The Fed has been under quite a lot of scrutiny in recent years. One of my goals here is to help improve understanding of what we are doing, both as regulators and monetary policymakers. During the past 120 years, the banking industry has transformed dramatically. […]