Occasions such as this provide those of us who work on economic policy in Washington an invaluable way to touch base and exchange ideas with business leaders around the country. The views that I will set forth today are my own and are not necessarily shared by other members of the Board of Governors or the Federal Open Market Committee.
As you know, economic growth has been slow for four quarters after several years of very strong gains. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this slowdown has been the abrupt deceleration in business fixed investment.