I personally see no need to administer additional doses unless the patient goes into postoperative decline. I would suggest to you that, if the data continue to improve, however gradually, the markets should begin preparing themselves for the good Dr. Fed to wean them from their dependency rather than administer further dosage. I am well aware of the salutary effect of accommodative monetary policy on the equity and fixed-income markets – remember, I am the only member of the FOMC who used to be on the other side. My firms’ record of substantially outperforming the equity and fixed-income indexes over a prolonged period before I hung up my investment business and entered public service in 1997 was achieved by focusing on the long-term fundamentals of the real economy and the underlying value of the securities we purchased or sold – not by depending on central bank largesse. Counting on the Fed to perpetually float returns is a mug’s game. From my present perspective on the side of the angels, as a member of the policymaking team on the FOMC, I believe adding to the accommodative doses we have applied rather than beginning to wean the patient might be the equivalent of medical malpractice. Having never before pursued this course of healing, we run the risk of painting ourselves further into a corner from which we do not know the costs of exiting.
Lim Hng Kiang: Singapore – pursuing broader and deeper economic integration with major economies Opening keynote speech by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry and Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at Deutsche Bank Access Asia Conference 2013, Singapore, 20 May 2013. *  *  *  Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, A very good morning to all of you. It is my pleasure to join you at Deutsche Bank’s Access Asia Conference 2013. Let me first thank Deutsche Bank for the invitation to speak at your conference. This is the largest event hosted by Deutsche Bank each year globally, and a huge turnout is a clear indicator of the strong corporate and investor interest in Asia. In the last 10 years, the centre of gravity of the world economy has been moving away from the US and Europe to Asia. Asia is expected to continue to prosper in the decades ahead as the middle class expands in line with strong economic growth. China is set to be the largest economy in the world by 2030 and is already creating megacities of over 10 million at an average rate of one per year. Besides China, India’s middle class is expected to grow to almost 600 million people by 2025. In Indonesia, almost 60 per cent of Indonesian households, in a country of 240 million people, are expected to reach middle-class status by 2020. Being a very small state, Singapore has and will continue to maintain an open economy.