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Home > Former President Jim Bullard > Speeches, Presentations and Commentary

From the President

U.S. Monetary Policy: A Case for Caution
May 11, 2018
Presentation (pdf) | Press Release | Photos
On a two-day visit to Spring�eld, Mo., St. Louis Fed President James Bullard met with area
business leaders, toured tech incubators and a workforce development center, and spoke
about monetary policy at an event sponsored by the Spring�eld Area Chamber of
Commerce.
During a Friday presentation, Bullard outlined �ve reasons for caution in raising the policy
rate (fed funds rate) further based on current macroeconomic conditions. Those reasons
are: 1) in�ation expectations remain low; 2) the current policy rate setting is neutral; 3) the
yield curve is relatively �at and yield curve inversion is possible; 4) business investment
has room to grow; and 5) labor markets are in equilibrium.

On Friday morning, Bullard spoke about monetary policy at the Spring�eld Area Chamber of Commerce.
Around 90 people attended his presentation.
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On Thursday, Bullard was welcomed to Missouri State University’s eFactory, a tech incubator, by Jim Baker
(left), vice president for research, economic development and international programs at the university, and
Allen Kunkel (right), associate vice president for economic development at the university and director of the
Jordan Valley Innovation Center.
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Jim Baker (center) welcomed Bullard (right) to the e-Factory, a tech incubator, on Thursday. Baker is the vice
president for research, economic development and international programs for Missouri State University,
which oversees the e-Factory.
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Bullard tried out a virtual reality headset from one of the startup business owners at the eFactory on
Thursday.
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At a dinner for bankers Thursday night, Karen Branding, a senior vice president at the St. Louis Fed,
introduced Bullard. Bullard often travels around Missouri and six other states that make up the St. Louis Fed’s
District so that he can hear from “Main Street.” In return, he shares his views on the state of the economy.
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On Friday, Bullard met with leaders from Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) and the college’s Center
for Workforce Development (CWD). Shown above, from left to right, are Stephanie Sumners, chief of staff and
executive director of the OTC Foundation; Matt Simpson, chief research and planning o�cer, OTC; Sherry
Coker, director, business development, CWD; Jim Abramovitz, executive director, CWD; Bullard; Hal Higdon,
chancellor, Ozarks Technical Community College System, and president, OTC Spring�eld Campus; Matt
Hudson, dean of technical education, OTC; Tim Baltes, associate vice chancellor for human resources and
workforce development, OTC.
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