Free Republic

Call this “The running of the Bull(ard)s mouth.” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he supports raising interest rates by a full percentage point by the start of July — including the first half-point hike since 2000 — in response to the hottest inflation in four decades. “I’d like to see 100 basis points in the bag by July 1,” Bullard, a voter on monetary policy this year, said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday. “I was already more hawkish but I have pulled up dramatically what I think the committee should do.” Bullard’s...

After a dismal jobs report on Friday, there are doubts about a US economic recovery. If The Fed has growing concerns about the economy (as in last week’s change from “moderate” to “modest”), any tapering of Fed stimulus will likely be postponed. And on Friday, Federal Reserve of St. Louis President James Bullard confirmed this fear. Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who backed this week’s Fed decision to continue bond buying, said the Fed will probably hold mortgage-backed securities among its assets longer than it had expected. “We are more inclined to...

Incredible Threat By Bill Bonner 08/06/10 Ouzilly, France – Last week, Mr. James Bullard was being both cagey and clairvoyant. The president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank noticed what everyone else has seen for months; the US economic recovery is a flop. GDP growth was last measured pottering along at a 2.4% rate in the second quarter, less than half the speed of the last quarter of ’09. At this stage in the typical post-war recovery, GDP growth should be over 5% with strong employment. Instead, the “Help Wanted” pages are largely empty. Homeowners are still underwater. And...

When his cardiologist warned him it would be tough to make the trip back to England to unveil a monument at the site of the Staplehurst Advanced Landing Ground commemorating the American and Canadian pilots who flew P-51 Mustangs from the base in World War II, Lt. Col. Bill Bullard, 90, told him one thing. “Well, not as tough as the first time I tried it,” he said. Bullard, along with his wife Birdie and daughter Linda, flew to England on June 3 to join local residents in Kent County, about an hour southeast of London, for the ceremony. “When...