Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today.1 Before I get into my main topic, I wanted to share my current views on the economy and monetary policy. Last week, we received the latest report on employment, and it provided further evidence that while the labor market slowed through last summer, it is now stabilizing. This stabilization is occurring with an unemployment rate that is broadly consistent with what many estimate is its long-run level, when the economy is in balance. That said, job creation has been near zero over the course of last year, as has labor force growth. With very low levels of job ... (full story)