00:00is the equivalent of $360 billion in savings.
00:05That's big stuff, you know.
00:06Those are big numbers in the U.S.
00:08Everything's big.
00:10He should cut.
00:12A smart person would cut.
00:14We want to see interest rates come down.
00:16Our country is booming,
00:18and the interest rates is a final little notch.
00:21And if you look at Europe, they've lowered 11 times.
00:2411 times in a short period of time.
00:27We've lowered zero.
00:28And we're not.
00:29We're 38.
00:30Number 38, because of the Fed.
00:32It's all because of the Fed.
00:34He's done a bad job.
00:37Now, he's got a meeting today,
00:39but I call him too late.
00:40You know, he's always too late.
00:41Even if he does it today, probably won't.
00:44Good afternoon.
00:46My colleagues and I remain squarely focused
00:49on achieving our dual mandate goals
00:51of maximum employment and stable prices
00:53for the benefit of the American people.
00:56Despite elevated uncertainty,
00:58the economy is in a solid position.
01:01The unemployment rate remains low,
01:03and the labor market is at or near maximum employment.
01:07Inflation has been running somewhat above
01:09our 2 percent longer-run objective.
01:11In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee
01:16decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged.
01:19We believe that the current stance of monetary policy
01:22leaves us well-positioned to respond in a timely way
01:25to potential economic developments.
01:27I will have more to say about monetary policy
01:30after briefly reviewing economic developments.
01:34Recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity
01:38has moderated.
01:39GDP rose at a 1.2 percent pace in the first half of this year,
01:44down from 2.5 percent last year.
01:46Although the increase in the second quarter was stronger at 3 percent,
01:51focusing on the first half of the year
01:53helps smooth through the volatility in the quarterly figures
01:56related to the unusual swings in net exports.
02:00The moderation in growth largely reflects a slowdown
02:04in consumer spending.
02:06In contrast, business investment in equipment and intangibles
02:09picked up from last year's pace.
02:11Activity in the housing sector remains weak.
02:13President Trump has obviously invoked your name a lot.
02:18He has personally pressured you.
02:20Are you concerned the way that conduct might impact
02:23the Fed's independence going forward?
02:26I'll just say that I think that having an independent central bank
02:32has been an institutional arrangement that has served the public well.
02:37And as long as it serves the public well,
02:39it should continue and be respected.
02:42If it didn't serve the public well,
02:43then it wouldn't be something
02:46that we should just automatically defend.
02:47But what it gives us and other central banks,
02:50what it gives you is the ability
02:51to make these very challenging decisions
02:55in ways that are focused on the data and the evolving outlook,
02:59the balance of risks, and all the things we talk about,
03:01and not political factors.
03:03And so governments all over the advanced economy world
03:06have chosen to put a little bit of distance
03:09between direct political control of those decisions
03:12and the decision makers.
03:14So if you were not to have that,
03:18that would be a great temptation, of course,
03:20to use interest rates to affect elections, for example.
03:25And that's something that we don't want to do.
03:28So I think that's pretty widely understood.
03:30Certainly it is in Congress.
03:31And I mean, I think it's very important.
03:35I'll just say that.
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