US Fed’s Bullard says inflation is still on the low side
The Fed's James Bullard has warned that the Federal Reserve's focus has shifted too much towards jobs and away from inflation.
Bullard reminded viewers of Bloomberg that the Fed has a dual mandate, and must consider both jobs and inflation. He said that inflation is still low.
The Fed's man said that labour force participation is still important, but driven by demography, dropping progressively for over a decade.
Veering towards political tensions in the US, Bullard said that brinkmanship over the US debt resulted in ratings agencies cutting US ratings. He said that he didn't want to see a repeat of that 2011 fiscal fight.
He said that Wednesday's surprise decision not to taper was a borderline call, and that Fed decisions remain data dependent.
Bullard said that Main Street is still annoyed by the bailout of Wall Street during the financial crisis.