benoit cœure : interview in liberation interview with mr benoit cœure, member of the executive board of the european central bank, in liberation, conducted by mr jean quatremer on 4 december 2019, and published on 16 december 2019. * * * on 25 september, sabine lautenschlager, the german member of the executive board, resigned after the public sector purchase programme ( pspp ), europe ’ s “ quantitative easing ”, was reactivated on 13 september following a majority decision of the governing council. several other ecb members also voted against, and the governors of the german, austrian and dutch central banks openly criticised this decision. what happened? in september, the euro area was facing the risk of a further slowdown and inflation was remaining too far away from our 2 % objective. the entire governing council agreed on this diagnosis – the debate was not about the need to act, but about the choice of instruments. some of us were not convinced that relaunching asset purchases was the most suitable instrument, because long - term interest rates had never been so low. it ’ s normal for there to be different points of view, but once a decision has been taken, we should accept it and move on. in fact, that ’ s one of the ecb ’ s greatest qualities – that it can take decisions by simple majority, making it more reactive than other european institutions. not everyone has to be in agreement, although it ’ s better when they are as that gives the decision more weight. a technical debate that nevertheless resulted in an open and intense confrontation … sabine resigned for a combination of personal reasons, and only she can comment on them. another relevant topic is communication. i think that once the institution has taken a decision, whatever your personal opinion you should defend that decision. things would be different if the votes were public, which is something i ’ ve always supported. each individual would have to take responsibility for their vote and explain how it was in the interest of the euro area – the national central bank governors sit in frankfurt in a personal capacity and should support the collective interest, not just their country ’ s. since the start of the euro area crisis in 2010, the bundesbank has routinely voted against the ecb ’ s decisions, criticised them publicly, even joined legal actions against it … the governing council was almost unanimous in its agreement that the measures taken during the crisis were both necessary and within the ecb ’ s mandate. i ’ m

william c dudley : impact of the great recession on public schools in the region remarks by mr william c dudley, president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the quarterly regional economic press briefing, new york city, 27 january 2012. * * * good morning and welcome once again to the new york fed ’ s quarterly regional economic press briefing. i am pleased to have this opportunity to talk with the journalists covering our region – and through you, to the people in our district. this morning i will focus on regional economic conditions, with particular attention to how the recession has affected public school spending in new york and new jersey – states that dominate the second federal reserve district. following my remarks, my colleagues will provide more details. as always, what i have to say reflects my own views and not necessarily those of the federal open market committee ( fomc ) or the federal reserve system. national economic conditions i will begin with a review of overall economic conditions. recent data suggest that the u. s. economy ended 2011 on a somewhat stronger note – the best performance since the first half of 2010. nonetheless, the amount of slack in the economy remains substantial. moreover, i think it is unlikely that the pace of growth we saw in the fourth quarter will carry through to the first half of 2012. growth of consumer spending strengthened in the fourth quarter, adding a needed boost to the economy. much of this stronger spending was for durable goods, particularly motor vehicles. in the fourth quarter of 2011, sales of light - weight motor vehicles reached the highest quarterly rate since the first half of 2008. this increase is encouraging because it suggests that consumers are now more able to borrow money to finance their purchases of cars and trucks. however, i must note that this boost is likely due in part to temporary factors. first, vehicle sales in the middle of 2011 were depressed due to supply chain disruptions stemming from the tragic earthquake and tsunami in japan. in addition, a stimulus - related tax provision that allowed businesses to immediately expense some investments expired at the end of 2011. so, some purchases were no doubt timed to occur before that expiration. moreover, for goods and services other than durable goods, the rate of growth of consumer spending has been rather tepid. the picture that emerges – up to now – is of a consumer who continues to be cautious. in addition to stronger growth of consumer spending, manufacturing output has firmed over the past several months. for example, the widely followed