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The First Phase of
the U.S. Recovery
and Beyond
James Bullard
President and CEO
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Global Interdependence Center
Shanghai, China
January 11, 2010
Any opinions expressed here are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of other
Federal Open Market Committee participants.

Plan For This Talk
The Nascent Global Recovery
The U.S. Recovery
U.S. Financial Markets and Inflation
Monetary Policy
Asset price bubbles

The Nascent Global Recovery

Global Growth is Improving
Canada
0.4, 0.5, 4.5
U.S.
2.8, 4.0, 5.0
Latin America
6.9, 4.6, 4.3

U.K.
-1.2, 1.8, 2.1
EU
1.5, 1.9, 1.4

Russia
1.0, 3.0, 7.0
China
12.0, 9.6, 8.0

India
India
8.0, 9.5, 9.0
13.0,
4.0, 6.0

South Africa
0.9, 2.2, 3.0

Japan
1.3, 3.6, 1.0
Australia
0.8, 1.9, 2.6

Growth Rate in Real GDP, SAAR, Percent
2009:Q3, 2009:Q4,2010:Q1
Source: Barclays Capital Global Economic Weekly.

World Real GDP Growth
Year-Over-Year Percent Change

7

Onset of
Credit Crisis

6
5
4

2010 Est.
3.1%

3
2
1

2009 Est.
-1.1%

0
-1
-2
1970

1973

1976

1979

1982

1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

2000

2003

2006

2009

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook , October 2009.

IMF Growth Forecasts for 2010
2007

2008

2009

2010

5.2

3.0

-1.1

3.1

United States

2.1

0.4

-2.7

1.5

Germany

2.5

1.2

-5.3

0.3

France

2.3

0.3

-2.4

0.9

Italy

1.6

-1.0

-5.1

0.2

United Kingdom

2.6

0.7

-4.4

0.9

Japan

2.3

-0.7

-5.4

1.7

Canada

2.5

0.4

-2.5

2.1

Russia

8.1

5.6

-7.5

1.5

China

13.0

9.0

8.5

9.0

India

9.3

7.3

5.4

6.4

Brazil

5.7

5.1

-0.7

3.5

World Output
G-7 Economies

BRIC Economies

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2009. (Year-over-Year Percent Change.)

The U.S. Recovery

U.S. Forecasters: Growth Ahead
Real Gross Domestic Product.
Actual and forecasted, percent change from previous quarter at annual rate.

Percent
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2

Real GDP Growth
Dec-2009 BC Forecast
Dec-2009 MA Forecast

-4
-6
-8
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Blue Chip Consensus, Macroeconomic Advisers.

U.S. Consumption Is Stabilizing
Real Personal Consumption Expenditures
(Monthly Data. Last observation: Nov. 2009)

Billions of Chained 2005 Dollars
9400
9350
9300
9250

Lehman Brothers'
collapse

WTI crude oil price
tops $100/barrel

9200
9150
9100
Jan-07 Apr-07

Jul-07

Oct-07 Jan-08 Apr-08

Jul-08

Oct-08 Jan-09 Apr-09

Jul-09

Oct-09

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis.

U.S. House Prices Are Stabilizing
Three-month percent change, annual rates (Monthly Data. Last observation: Oct. 2009)
Percent
25

Case-Shiller
Composite 20

20
15
10

LP-HPI

5

FHFA: PO

0
-5
-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Source: Loan Performance/FHFA/S&P.

U.S. Civilian Unemployment Remains High…
Thousands

Percent
12

700
650

11

Unemployment Rate (SA, Right Axis)

600
10
550
500
450

Initial Claims for Unemployment
Insurance (4-week moving average, left
axis)

9
8

400

7

350
6
300
250

5

200
2005

4
2006

2007

2008

2009

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics/Department of Labor.

U.S. Financial Markets and
Inflation

U.S. Credit Spreads Have Narrowed
Bond Spreads to 10-Yr Treasury
(Monthly data. Last Observation: Nov. 2009)

Basis Points
800
700

BBB

600
500
400

AA

300
200

AAA

100
0
Jan-2007

Jul-2007

Jan-2008

Jul-2008

Jan-2009

Jul-2009
Source: Federal Reserve.

World Equity Prices Since Trough
Trough12/30/2009
% Change

Peak Date

Trough Date

Peak-Trough
% Change

U.S.

Oct. 09, 2007

Mar. 09, 2009

-54%

61%

Germany

Jul. 16, 2007

Mar. 06, 2009

-55%

62%

France

Jun. 01, 2007

Mar. 09, 2009

-59%

56%

Italy

May. 2, 2007

Mar. 03, 2009

-63%

59%

U.K.

Jun. 15, 2007

Mar. 03, 2009

-49%

55%

Japan

Jul. 09, 2007

Mar. 10, 2009

-61%

49%

Canada

Jun. 18, 2008

Mar. 09, 2009

-50%

55%

Russia

May 19, 2008

Jan. 23, 2009

-80%

188%

China

Oct. 16, 2007

Oct. 27, 2008

-72%

101%

India

Jan. 08, 2008

Mar. 11, 2009

-61%

113%

Brazil

May 20, 2008

Oct. 27, 2008

-60%

133%

Country
G7 Economies

BRIC Economies

Source: Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Toronto Stock Exchange, and RTS Stock Exchange.

U.S. Inflation Remains Low…
PCE Inflation
Year-over-year percent change

5
Headline PCE

4
3
2

Core PCE

1
0
2007:01
-1

2007:07

2008:01

2008:07

2009:01

2009:07

-2
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis/Macroeconomic Advisers.

Monetary Policy

Three Parts to U.S. Current Monetary Policy

Liquidity programs: lending on collateral to mitigate the panic.
A near-zero interest rate policy.
An asset purchase program, “quantitative easing.”

U.S. Liquidity Programs Naturally Tapering Off
Billions $
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000

Short-term Lending to Financial Firms and Markets:
= Repurchase Agreements- Triparty
+ Term Auction Credit
+ Commercial Paper Funding Facility
+ Central Bank liquidity swaps
+ Net Portfolio Holdings of LLCs Thru MMIFF
+ Other Loans Less Loan to AIG
+ Other Assets

800
600
400
200
0
01/07

07/07

01/08

07/08

01/09

07/09

01/10
Source: Federal Reserve.

Near-Zero Policy Rates in the G-7
Percent
7

U.K.

6
5

Canada
4
3

Euro Area

2
1
0
Jan-07

U.S.

Japan
Jul-07

Jan-08

Jul-08

Jan-09

Jul-09

Source: Federal Reserve, Bank of England, European Central Bank, Bank of Canada, Bank of Japan.

Composition of Federal Reserve Assets
(Weekly Data. Last Observation: Dec. 30, 2009)

Billions $
3,000
Short-Term Lending to Financial Firms and Markets
2,500
2,000

Rescue Operations
Operations Focused on Longer-Term Credit Conditions
Traditional Portfolio

1,500

Traditional Portfolio and Long-Term Assets

1,000
500
0
01/07

07/07

01/08

07/08

01/09

07/09

01/10
Source: Federal Reserve.

The Asset Purchase Program
The Committee announced an intention to buy up to $1.725 trillion
in assets by 2010 Q1.
 Considered successful as quantitative easing.
 Causing a large and persistent increase in the monetary base ...
 ... and a medium-term inflation risk.

The FOMC asset purchase program does not have a statecontingent character.
Main issue: How to adjust the asset purchase program going
forward and not generate inflation?

Timeline of Monetary Policy
Traditional Policy
Rate Adjustment

Large Scale Asset
Purchase Program

12/08

10/08

Liquidity
Programs

3/10

02/10

“Extended
Period”
?

Resumption of
Traditional Policy
Rate Adjustment

?

Asset Price Bubbles

Two decades, two “bubbles”
Monetary policy necessarily affects asset prices and interest rates.
Historically, this did not appear to create prolonged run-ups in asset
prices.
But changes in the recovery of employment in the past two
recessions led the Fed to keep interest rates low for a long time.
Both periods featured prolonged increases in certain asset prices:
for technology in the 1990s, and for housing in the 2000s.
The drag on the economy from the housing decline since 2006 has
been especially severe.

U.S. Housing Bubble: 2001-2008
Index: 2001=100
180
170
160

S&P/Case-Shiller Home
Price Index:
U.S. National
2001=100

150
140
130

Nominal GDP
2001=100

120
110
100
2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Source: S&P, Fiserv, MacroMarkets LLC, and Bureau of Economic Analysis.

U.S. Stock Market Bubble: 1994-2003
Index: 1994 =100
590
540
490
440

NASDAQ Composite
1994=100

390
340
290
240

Nominal GDP
1994=100

190
140
90
1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Source: Wall Street Journal, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Japanese Stock Market Bubble: 1984-1994
Index: 1984=100
350

Nikkei 225
Average
1984=100

300

250

200

Japan: Nominal GDP
1984=100

150

100
1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

Source: Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, IMF.

Monetary policy outcomes
Still, monetary policy outcomes during the past two decades up to the
current crisis have been good.
Unemployment hit lows of 3.8 percent in 2000, and 4.4 percent in
2007.
Inflation has been low and stable through this period.
If policy was too low for too long in the 1990s and in the 2000s, why
didn’t we see more inflation?
Yet, without an increase in inflation, asset price misalignments seem
to have caused significant problems for the macroeconomy.
This may mean that monetary policy should put more weight on asset
prices going forward.

Summary for Asset Price Bubbles
Asset price "bubbles" are a very serious issue for
monetary policy.
This issue has been debated extensively over the past 15
years, but the debate will now intensify.
The main problem: It is hard to see what was “wrong”
with previous policy, given conventional ideas about
what policy is trying to accomplish.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Economic Data
(FRED)
research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/

James Bullard
research.stlouisfed.org/econ/bullard/