kevin greenidge : barbados, a safe haven in a world of economic uncertainties remarks by dr kevin greenidge, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the eckler annual pension investment conference, bridgetown, 4 december 2023. * * * i am delighted to address this pension investment conference put on by eckler. i understand that it is now becoming a tradition for the central bank of barbados to speak to this grouping at least once a year. i am pleased to build on that convention. you allowed me to choose the topic for today's conversation. i have decided to speak on " barbados, a safe haven in a world of economic uncertainties : the impact on pension funds. " managing the many economic uncertainties is a challenge that pension fund managers across the globe feel acutely. the investment landscape is ever - changing, shaped by domestic and global events and economic shifts. these uncertainties include, on the local front, inflation pressures, low interest rates, shifting demographic trends, and underfunded pension plans. and internationally, volatile financial markets, elevated interest rates, increasing debt burdens, and geopolitical tensions are of great concern to all of us. mitigating these risks requires an understanding of these dynamics, prudent financial management, and a willingness to adapt strategies to changing trends. i will focus my discussion on these risks and how they impact pension funds. but before i get there, i must highlight how the barbadian economy has been performing. the barbados economy has rebounded, registering 10 consecutive quarters of growth as at september 2023. this expansion is seen in all of our economic fundamentals. for the purpose of this discussion, i will highlight the five broad areas of improvement which have the most significant impact on investment outturns, financial stability, and by extension pension fund viability. these include : the debt - to - gdp ratio, our fiscal performance, our external standing, our stable financial sector, and, of course, the strong tourism outturn. our debt - to - gdp ratio continues to fall. as at september 2023, it stood at 115. 4 percent. even though the debt stock is expanding, the robust economic expansion continues to outpace the growth in debt accumulation and is driving down the ratio. as the economy continues to grow, our debt - to - gdp will decline further, and we are on track to reach a ratio of 60 percent by fy 2035 / 36. government met its primary

jerome h powell : opening remarks - “ community listening session " opening remarks by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at a “ community listening session ", a fed listens event at the federal reserve bank of kansas city, kansas city, missouri, 9 october 2019. * * * good morning. i am happy to be here in kansas city for the 13th of 14 fed listens events. i look forward to hearing the perspectives of the community and business leaders participating today. the reserve banks and the board have been holding fed listens events around the country as part of a comprehensive and public review of our monetary policy strategy, tools, and communications practices. almost all of the fed listens meetings, like this one, have been open to the press and live - streamed on the internet. both the breadth and transparency of the review are unprecedented for us. one reason we are conducting this review is that it is always a good practice for any organization to occasionally take a step back and ask if it could be doing its job more effectively. but we must pose that question not just to ourselves. because congress has granted the federal reserve significant protections from short - term political pressures, we have an obligation to clearly explain what we are doing and why. and we have an obligation to actively engage the people we serve so that they and their elected representatives can hold us accountable. we have invited you here because we want to better understand how monetary policy affects your lives and the lives of the people your organizations represent. we want to hear your perspective on maximum employment and price stability — the monetary policy goals congress has assigned us. now is a good time to conduct the review. unemployment is at a half - century low, and inflation is running close to, but a bit below, our 2 percent objective. while not everyone fully shares economic opportunities and the economy faces some risks, overall, it is — as i like to say — in a good place. our job is to keep it there as long as possible. while we believe our strategy and tools have been and remain effective, the u. s. economy, like other advanced economies around the world, is facing some longer - term challenges — from low growth, low inflation, and low interest rates. while slow growth is obviously not good, you may be asking, “ what ’ s wrong with low inflation and low interest rates? ” low can be good, but when inflation — and, consequently, interest rates — are