speeches · April 10, 2019
Regional President Speech
James Bullard · President
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From the President
A Successful Normalization, With Challenges Ahead
April 11, 2019
Presentation (pdf) | Press Release | Photos | Video
On Thursday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard discussed the end of U.S. monetary
policy normalization in a presentation at the Community Development Foundation of
Tupelo in Mississippi. Regarding normalization, he said, “The campaign has been largely
successful: Nominal short-term interest rates have been raised from near-zero levels, and
the size of the Fed’s balance sheet has been reduced as the economic expansion has
continued.”
While normalization has come to an end, the conduct of monetary policy has not, Bullard
pointed out. “The FOMC may elect to adjust monetary policy going forward, but any such
adjustments would be in response to incoming macroeconomic data and not part of an
ongoing normalization strategy,” he said.
Bullard went on to discuss the macroeconomic challenges facing the FOMC during 2019,
including weak feedback from labor markets to in�ation. He also noted that in�ation
expectations remain somewhat low and parts of the Treasury yield curve are inverted.
“These market-based signals indicate that the FOMC needs to tread carefully going forward
in order to sustain the economic expansion,” he added.
Bullard was on a two-day tour of Tupelo and Greenwood, Miss., and the surrounding
communities. Besides meeting with business and civic leaders, Bullard also toured the
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi Inc. plant in Blue Springs and visited Staplcotn, the
oldest and one of the largest cotton marketing cooperatives in the U.S. On Thursday night,
Bullard also spoke before community and business leaders on the St. Louis Fed’s efforts to
promote community development.
Bullard frequently visits communities in the four zones that make up the St. Louis Fed’s
District. Tupelo and Greenwood are in the Memphis Zone. Speaking engagements and visits
to local businesses allow him to deepen his understanding of the concerns and issues facing
Main Street.
Video of Presentation and Audience Q&A:
Photos:
On Thursday, April 11, 2019, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard discussed the successful normalization of
U.S. monetary policy and the macroeconomic challenges facing the FOMC during 2019. He presented at the
Community Development Foundation of Tupelo in Mississippi. Bullard speaks at events throughout the St.
Louis Fed’s District to share his insights on the U.S. economy as well as gather views from Main Street.
Download High Resolution Photo
On Thursday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard (third from the right) watched a Staplcotn employee
demonstrate how to check the staple length of cotton at the company’s headquarters in Greenwood, Miss.
Staplcotn is the oldest and one of the largest cotton marketing cooperatives in the U.S. Visiting businesses
like Staplcotn helps Bullard to gauge the state of the regional economy.
Download High Resolution Photo
On Thursday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard (in foreground) took a photo of a hitch of Budweiser
Clydesdales parading in downtown Greenwood, Miss.
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Standing before a hitch of Budweiser Clydesdales in downtown Greenwood, Miss., (from left to right) are J.
Brice Fletcher, a board member of the St. Louis Fed’s Memphis Branch; Douglas Scarboro, senior vice
president and regional executive of the Memphis Branch; Bullard; and David Cochran Jr., a board member of
the Memphis Branch.
Download High Resolution Photo
On Thursday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard toured the Greenwood, Miss., headquarters of Staplcotn,
the oldest and one of the largest cotton marketing cooperatives in the U.S. Bullard visits businesses to help
inform him of economic conditions and trends affecting industry. From left to right, Tom Dillard, COO of
Stapldiscount, the lending arm of Staplcotn; J. Brice Fletcher, chairman of First National Bank of Eastern
Arkansas and member of the St. Louis Fed’s Memphis Branch board of directors; Daniel Davis, assistant vice
president and community development o�cer at the St. Louis Fed; Douglas Scarboro, senior vice president
and regional executive of the Memphis Branch; Bullard; Hank Reichle, president and CEO of Staplcotn and
member of the St. Louis Fed’s Agribusiness Industry Council; David Camp, vice president of sales operations
at Staplcotn; and Kenny Downs, general counsel and secretary for both Staplcotn and Stapldiscount.
Download High Resolution Photo
Cite this document
APA
James Bullard (2019, April 10). Regional President Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_20190411_james_bullard
BibTeX
@misc{wtfs_regional_speeche_20190411_james_bullard,
author = {James Bullard},
title = {Regional President Speech},
year = {2019},
month = {Apr},
howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_20190411_james_bullard},
note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}