Economic Outlook, October 2011

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you tonight. I will be discussing the economy — both current economic conditions and what the future might hold. Before I begin, I would like to emphasize that these remarks are my own and the views expressed are not necessarily shared by my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).1 My views about the economy are shaped by the ongoing analysis of national and regional data by staff in the Federal Reserve System, particularly at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. But they are also influenced importantly by the wealth of information that we glean from regular contacts with businesses and consumers around our district. There is no good substitute, in my mind, for talking with economic decision makers about their particular situation and hearing their concerns for the future. Indeed, what brings my Richmond Fed colleagues and me to this region is a desire to learn more about some of the key drivers of the Eastern Shore economy. Before coming to tonight's dinner, a group of us visited various businesses involved in the poultry and seafood industries. Tomorrow, we'll learn about state-of-the-art technology that is transforming the space and defense industries. Making sense of these developments and incoming economic data would be much more difficult without the perspective derived from our contacts around the Fifth District. The Fed's ability to gather such information is greatly enhanced by the decentralized, federated structure of the System, a subject to which I will return later in my remarks.