Amid the deepest recession of the postwar era, the Federal Reserve faces one of the gravest challenges of its 96-year history.
Janet Yellen, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, assesses the state of the economy while explaining the thinking and the actions behind some of the Fed's precedent-shattering initiatives to rescue a financial system in crisis and help jump-start economic growth.
Dr. Janet L Yellen
Janet L. Yellen took office on June 14, 2004, as president and chief executive officer of the Twelfth District Federal Reserve Bank, at San Francisco. In 2009, she serves as a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Dr. Yellen is professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley where she was the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics and has been a faculty member since 1980.
Speaking at a Commonwealth Club event in 2009, Janet Yellen, Vice Chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, looks at how capitalism is regulated in the United States and how government corrects flaws in the market.
U.S. central bank system consisting of 12 Federal Reserve districts with a Reserve bank in the principal commercial city of each district. The system is supervised by a board of governors in Washington, D.C., as well as by various advisory councils and committees. As a result of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, all national banks are required to join the system; state banks may join if they meet membership qualifications. The Federal Reserve is responsible for monetary policy. The original act set fixed reserve requirements for the U.S. fractional reserve banking system. It allowed each district bank to determine its discount rate, the rate it charged on loans to member banks. The modern Federal Reserve resulted from the Federal Reserve Act of 1935, which allowed the board to determine reserve requirements within defined limits. It became responsible for approving the discount rates of the district banks. Most importantly, the act created the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, which is responsible for conducting operations in financial markets that increase or decrease the amount of reserves in the system. If the Federal Reserve wants to ease monetary policy, it will use open market operations and increase the amount of reserves through the purchase of financial assets. Conversely, it can tighten monetary policy through the sale of financial assets.
Date line Commonwealth Club: Smarmy industry representative reassures manipulable landless peasants of stability and prosperity ensured by under regulated and legally/civilly immune non governmental organizations efforts to obfuscate blatant evidence of criminal and unethical behaviour by same organization with tried and true tactic: "Who are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" with backhand pandering to ingrained pusillanimity for authority figures. <On No News Service @ 11>
The FED needs to be audited. Support HR 1207 bill. Time we get a handle on this crooks. Not surprised to see this types of speeches considering the FED is under pressure and trying to strengthen its PR. Don't fall this type of information. Inflation is the real threat. Inflation is the increase in money supply not the increase in prices...that is a by-product of too much money floating and the devaluation of the dollar. That is most urgent concern. The talk of an international currency shouldn't be taken lightly. US public beware.
Is it any wonder that main street has contempt for the Fed. Yellan casually says that:
* Toxic CDOs simply "spread" (blamelessly);
* Nowadays hyper-inflation only happens in less advanced economies (hopefully);
* The Fed will wind interest rates as far up as needed (without apology).
Yellan showed the archetypical demeanour of the disconnected bureaucrat. They uses it to shield themselves from the shame of failure. In this case, it is the perennial failure to prevent bubbles that hurt us when they burst. Only a fool would believe that the Fed is competently managed - remember Greenspan.
As I listened to this lecture I felt the red mist descend. Please provide a speaker with more passion for justice, as a tonic for this rot.