Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Recent data on economic activity have been loaded with upside surprises for most spending categories and also for labor markets. Our response, like the Greenbook, has been to boost our estimate of growth last quarter and our forecast for growth this quarter. For 2007 as a ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think, at the end of the day, alternatives A and B really amount to the same thing in terms of policy. So I could live with either, but on communication grounds, my own strong preference would be for B. I think it is important at ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In my view, cumulative recessionary dynamics are deeply entrenched, with mounting job losses leading to weaker consumer spending, tighter credit, more job losses, and so on; and this nasty set of economic linkages is gaining momentum. Like the Greenbook, I anticipate a long period of decline ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is an extremely important discussion, and I am glad that you have arranged a special session. I very much appreciate the comprehensive and outstanding memos from the staff. At our October meeting, we agreed to take whatever steps were necessary to support the recovery of ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I favor alternative A, a 50 basis point cut in the funds rate. This action, and even more, is justified by the dramatic developments since our last meeting—a deepening of the recessionary outlook worldwide, the near meltdown of the global financial system, and the abatement ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the run-up to Halloween, we have had a witch’s brew of news. Sorry. [Laughter] The downward trajectory of economic data has been hair-raising—with employment, consumer sentiment, spending and orders for capital goods, and homebuilding all contracting—and conditions in financial and credit markets ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I strongly support your proposal to cut the federal funds rate by 50 basis points today and the wording of the statement. I’m pleased that the FOMC will take this step as part of a coordinated program with other central banks. In my opinion, a ...

Fine, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. During the past several weeks, my head office and Branch directors have become decidedly more pessimistic about the economic outlook. My own assessment of incoming data coincides with theirs. My contacts also report that their businesses are still raising prices in response to past increases in ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I favor alternative A—no change in the funds rate and a balanced assessment of risks designed to leave market expectations concerning the path of the funds rate roughly unchanged. Oops, I made a mistake, there is no A. [Laughter] So I propose to create it ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Developments during the intermeeting period have heightened my concern about downside risks to economic growth and slightly allayed my concern about upside risks to inflation. Let me begin with growth. The moderate growth rate registered in the second quarter was disappointing, especially because it benefited from ...

Yes. Well, while I expressed some qualms, I’m comfortable with the proposal and can support it. I think I prefer having the two options of 28 and 84, but I’m comfortable with the proposal.

No, that’s fine.

If we had not lent, they would have been unable to meet withdrawals, and I think that there would have had to be an earlier closure. It would have been a midweek closure. The firm probably would have had fire sales of the assets. The closure would probably have been ...

There was about $1 billion of uninsured deposits out of roughly $30 billion of total liabilities, and some fled. I don’t know exactly what proportion fled. Maybe at the end there was something like $700 million of uninsured deposits, and we certainly worried about that in thinking about whether ...

Well, I guess we would have had that. Had they taken the loan out earlier, when they were still rated 2 or 3, I think it would have substituted for borrowings that they could have had at that time from the Federal Home Loan Bank. They might have had a ...

They initially told us that they would take up to the face value of the collateral, and we quickly determined that that is not consistent with Federal Reserve policy. In point of fact, it is not consistent with the written agreement that the Reserve Banks have with the FDIC, which ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I support extending the TSLF along with the PDCF, and I am also supportive of the proposal to auction options on TSLF draws. I think we do continue to have money market stress, particularly at quarter-end, and it strikes me as a well- targeted program that ...

I will be very brief, Mr. Chairman. I do want to say, with respect to the short-term issues, that I fully support the plan that you laid out. I certainly favor keeping these facilities in place beyond September. Even if their use diminishes, I agree with the point that it ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I favor alternative B with the proposed wording. Given the forecast and the risks around it, our next move on the funds rate is likely to be up, and the question is when. Assuming that the data on growth and inflation come in roughly as I ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The intermeeting period has been full of surprises. Real-side data came in considerably stronger than I anticipated, so like the Greenbook I have adjusted up my forecast for growth in the current quarter. At the same time, the adverse fundamentals that will weigh on household and ...

Thank you. First, I do really appreciate all the excellent work the staff has done on this topic. I really learned a lot from these papers. I thought they were very clear and very comprehensive. I have just a couple of comments on the questions that Bill and Brian raised ...

I have a comment, not a question.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I favor alternative B with the wording that has been proposed. But I do appreciate that there is a case for alternative C as well, and I understand and appreciate the arguments that have been made in favor of it. On the pure economic merits, I ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In looking at the latest Blue Chip forecasts for GDP growth, I noted that the range between the highest and lowest is among the largest on record. The 10 most optimistic forecasters are predicting over 2½ percentage points faster Q4-over-Q4 growth than the 10 most pessimistic ...

Are you asking voters only?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I support your proposal for a 75 basis point cut and the language that’s proposed for alternative A. As I said in my comments, I’m very concerned about economic growth and agree basically with the Greenbook perspective. I think we are into an adverse ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Since we met at the end of January, there has been an utter dearth of good news concerning both the real and the financial sides of the economy. On the real side, I just can’t recall any intermeeting period in which nearly every single data ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I strongly support the proposed term securities lending facility. I certainly agree that we face a situation in which systemic risk is large, and it’s escalating very quickly. A dangerous dynamic has set in. Bill, Don, and all the memos did a great job in ...

No, I don’t have a question.

I wanted to support President Poole’s comment. I remember very well back at Jackson Hole in 2005 that Raghuram Rajan presented a paper in which he emphasized the misalignment of incentives between investors and managers and the fact that almost everyone down the line right up to the investors ...

He proposed, as I recall, changing two sentences, eliminating the one that referred to downside risks and also changing the last sentence. I would not want to see the downside risk sentence eliminated; I would change only the very last sentence.

That’s correct. I was suggesting changing only the very last sentence.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I support alternative B in the Bluebook. If we cut the federal funds rate a further 50 basis points today, we will have done a lot in just a week and a half, but I think these actions do represent an appropriate response to a substantial ...

I’ll see you and up you. [Laughter]

A larger amount? I wouldn’t attach too much significance to the precise figure—it’s somewhat more.

The “why”?

We assumed an additional 25, which would be held in place through 2009:Q1, and then a gradual rise.

We assumed 50 at this meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I broadly agree with the Greenbook forecast for economic growth this year and with the assessment that the downside risks to that forecast are considerable. The severe and prolonged housing downturn and financial shock have put the economy at, if not beyond, the brink of recession ...

Thank you. I strongly support your proposal for a 75 basis point funds rate cut today, and I like the proposed wording of the statement. The outlook has deteriorated, not only since December but since our conference call. The downside risks have clearly increased. I think the risk of a ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I agree with both the concerns that you expressed and the analysis that you offered. Based on the data we now have in hand, I support a 50 basis point reduction in the federal funds rate in the near future. I think a very good case ...

No, he didn’t speak to me.

But general counsels normally don’t participate in this process.

That would be nice. [Laughter]

But you are not circulating them to us?

Do we have those? We have a meeting on Thursday morning.

I just have a question. With respect to the implementation of the TAF, could you clarify what we need to ask our boards of directors to do and when?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With respect to policy, I also favor alternative A, a 50 basis point rate cut. Let me explain my reasoning. Otherwise I certainly agree with what President Rosengren said. First, I think the equilibrium real rate of interest is low relative to its long-run average. The ...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At the time of our last meeting, I held out hope that the financial turmoil would gradually ebb and the economy might escape without serious damage. Subsequent developments have severely shaken that belief. The bad news since our last meeting has grown steadier and louder, as ...