Thank you, Tom, and thank you to the Council on Foreign Relations for the opportunity to speak to you today. Since the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) last meeting on September 16 and 17, economic data have tended to support my view of a labor market that is softening and inflation—absent temporary tariff effects—that is running fairly close to the FOMC's 2 percent target. Based on what I know today, I support continued easing of monetary policy from its current setting, which I judge is moderately restricting aggregate demand and economic activity. But I also see a conflict right now between data showing ... (full story)