Janet L. Yellen’s Speeches

Thank you very much for inviting me to join you today. It’s a real pleasure to be part of this outstanding event exploring the future of the Bay Area and of California. Now that Lenny has given you a look at the economic profile of the Bay Area, I’m going to take on a bigger canvas and paint a picture of the forecast for the nation as a whole. The national picture certainly contains some features that are key factors in the fortunes of the Bay Area economy—particularly housing markets. Of course, the overall performance of the national economy will impact […]

Good morning. I’m Janet Yellen, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. On behalf of the San Francisco Fed and our co-hosts, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision, I’m delighted to welcome you to Las Vegas and to the 2006 National Community Reinvestment Conference. This is actually the second time we’ve held this conference in Las Vegas. The last time we were here was in 1998, and the city has grown significantly in the last eight years. Back then, there wasn’t an Eiffel Tower […]

Greetings, and many thanks for inviting me to join you today—or, perhaps I should say “tomorrow,” since it’s only Wednesday, March 15, for me. In my remarks, I will focus on the U.S. economy, and I’ll organize my comments around three broad topics. The first is employment and output growth. The second is inflation. My third and last topic is the conduct of monetary policy. In preparing for this talk, I took a quick look at the online edition of the Sydney Morning Herald—just to see if anything might jump off the page as particularly relevant to this discussion. In fact, something […]

Good afternoon. It’s always a pleasure to speak to the members of NABE, and I very much appreciate the invitation to participate in this year’s Economic Policy Conference. My remarks today will focus on the issue of credibility—in particular on the Federal Reserve’s credibility regarding its announced commitment to maintaining price stability. I will discuss ways in which the Federal Reserve could improve transparency and communication, enhancing Fed credibility and the effectiveness of monetary policy. To my mind, credibility is a worthy end in itself—those who are credible are often said to be “as good as their word.” But credibility is […]

Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for inviting me to speak to you today. I’m going to keep my prepared remarks brief, so that we’ll have plenty of time for your questions and comments. As you know, 2006 is a year of significant transition for the Federal Reserve. At the end of this month, Alan Greenspan is stepping down as Chairman after 18 years of distinguished service, and Ben Bernanke will then, in all likelihood, have been confirmed by the Senate and will therefore be in a position to become the new Chairman. So this seemed like a natural time to spend […]

Good morning, and thanks very much for inviting me today. I’m delighted to be here with you. As 2005 draws to a close, it’s a good time to take a look back at the year that has passed and to think about what may lie ahead for the U.S. economy in 2006. In taking this retrospective and prospective approach, I’m going to organize my remarks around three broad topics. The first is employment and output growth. The second is inflation. Not surprisingly, energy prices factor significantly into developments in both realms and are relevant in shaping the risks going forward. My […]

Tonight I would like to focus on how the Fed, or central banks, more generally, should respond to asset price bubbles. This is one of the few policy issues where the Fed’s approach has come in for real criticism. I thought it might be of interest to this audience since, one way or another, it has probably touched the life of almost everyone here in the Bay Area. I saw that in memorable ways when I returned to MBA teaching at Haas in the fall of 1999 after a stint in Washington including 2½ years as a Governor of the Fed. […]

Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here in Salt Lake City with you today. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to outline my thoughts on the U.S. economy and on monetary policy. I hope you’ll have some comments and questions for me afterward. As President of the Federal Reserve Bank serving Utah and eight other Western states, it is my job to bring the economic insights and perspectives of business leaders in our region into deliberations at the policy table. So I am eager to know what issues and developments are particularly on your minds. Let me note, by the […]

It’s a pleasure and an honor to speak to you today, and I thank you for the kind invitation. Indeed, I’m always eager to accept invitations to speak in London, because it was my home many years ago, when I was on the faculty of the London School of Economics. I came to know and love the city then, and I’m always happy to return. My main topics today are the U.S. economy and the Federal Open Market Committee’s conduct of monetary policy. I’d like to start with conditions in the U.S. economy, including output growth and employment as well as […]

It’s a pleasure to be here with you in San Diego. My remarks today will focus on the nation’s economy and the implications for monetary policy. As I was preparing for this event a few weeks ago, I originally had in mind a fairly upbeat talk about an economy that was in reasonably good shape. Since then, of course, a great deal has happened. The country has come face to face with a natural disaster of enormous proportions, particularly in terms of the human tragedy that has occurred in its wake. Our thoughts and best wishes are with those in the […]