And here it seems especially à propos to remind you that my remarks here today reflect my thoughts alone, and not necessarily those of others in the Federal Reserve System, including my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee. FOMC objectives Let me turn first to a discussion of FOMC objectives.
This conference is a joint venture between the Deutsche Bundesbank and the American Council on Germany. It offers an opportunity for a European-American dialogue on current financial market issues. Since the mid-1990s, the international community has witnessed a new wave of international financial crises. Given the ongoing world-wide integration of financial systems, the consequences of crises are no longer confined to a single state.