Conclusion As you can see, these are interesting times to be a central banker. The macroeconomic challenges evolved quickly during the course of the last twelve months. The economic outlook is for slowing, but still positive, growth, but in the context of contained inflation and tight labor markets. To manage this complex set of forces requires continued vigilance on our part.
Additionally, the last twelve months have raised an important set of questions regarding measures of real economic performance, the behavior of inflation, financial market indicators, and the growing globalization of today’s economy. I have enjoyed immensely having to grapple with these issues, but recognize that we at the central bank do not have all the answers.