It wasn’t the first time a Fed official spoke in front of an invite-only group who might have benefited from speaking with him. Stanley Fisher, speech behind closed doors at the Brookings Institution, which drew several protests. More commonly, Fed officials meet in small groups with economists and traders from banks and investment funds to exchange information on markets and the economy.
Our coverage of the investment world
This year’s stock and bond market declines have been painful and future developments remain difficult to predict.
- bad year for bonds: This was perhaps the most devastating time for bonds in centuries since at least 1926. But much of the damage has already passed.
- Disagreement: Some investors don’t understand how the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without jeopardizing high unemployment.The Fed looks more optimistic.
- Survive the Storm: The stock and bond market crashes have been especially rough for people paying for college, retirement, or a new home.
- College savings: The 529 plan is collapsing as the stock and bond markets rock. what does the family do? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are options.
And while Fed officials regularly speak at bank events, their statements are usually reported to the news media and published, streamed or recorded. So was the event.
What is remarkable about Mr. Bullard’s City Conference is that it was neither an information-gathering excursion by a handful of people nor a publicly available speech. The event had a formal agenda and was advertised for City customers, but about 40 people attended, two of his people familiar with the matter said. Bullard said he spoke for 10 minutes before answering questions from the attendees.
“It is important, even mission critical, for the Fed to have an open dialogue with all sectors of the economy,” said Caleb Nygaard, who studies central banking at the University of Pennsylvania. “A lot of the message and the spirit of it is that central banks should be on the receiving end of the information.”
Things to consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? What motivates them to tell us? Have they proven trustworthy in the past? Can the information be corroborated? Even if these questions are resolved, The Times will use anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one of her editors know the identity of the source.
Citi’s forum was also attended by central bankers from outside the United States, including Swedish Riksbank Deputy Governor Anna Bremann and the European Central Bank’s Governing Council’s Oli Lane, but at least their appearances Some of the were featured in the news. media and some of them speech has been published.
It’s not clear if Bullard’s speech violated the law Federal Reserve Communication Rulesbut some outside experts said they appeared to be tiptoeing near the line.
Federal Reserve rules do not expressly prohibit closed-door meetings of the central bank, but “to the extent possible, committee members should discuss monetary policy in meetings and conversations with individuals and companies. I refrain from expressing my personal views on or “organizations that can benefit financially”, unless those views have already been expressed in public communications.