soon, the federal open market committee ( fomc ) will devote time at its regular meetings to assess the lessons from these events, supported by analysis by staff from around the federal reserve system. we will publicly report the conclusions of our discussions, likely during the first half of next year. in the meantime, anyone who is interested in learning more can find information on the federal reserve board ’ s website. 1 let me turn now from the longer - term issues that are the focus of the review to the nearer - term outlook for the economy and for monetary policy. so far this year, the economy has performed reasonably well. solid fundamentals are supporting continued growth and strong job creation, keeping the unemployment rate near historic lows. although inflation has been running somewhat below our symmetric 2 percent objective, we have expected it to pick up, supported by solid growth and a strong job market. along with this favorable picture, we have been mindful of some ongoing crosscurrents, including trade developments and concerns about global growth. when the fomc met at the start of may, tentative evidence suggested these crosscurrents were moderating, and we saw no strong case for adjusting our policy rate. since then, the picture has changed. the crosscurrents have reemerged, with apparent progress on trade turning to greater uncertainty and with incoming data raising renewed concerns about the strength of the global economy. our contacts in business and agriculture report heightened concerns over trade developments. these concerns may have contributed to the drop in business confidence in some recent surveys and may be starting to show through to incoming data. for example, the limited available evidence we have suggests that investment by businesses has slowed from the pace earlier in the year. against the backdrop of heightened uncertainties, the baseline outlook of my fomc colleagues, like that of many other forecasters, remains favorable, with unemployment remaining near historic lows. inflation is expected to return to 2 percent over time, but at a somewhat slower pace than we foresaw earlier in the year. however, the risks to this favorable baseline outlook appear to have grown. last week, my fomc colleagues and i held our regular meeting to assess the stance of monetary policy. we did not change the setting for our main policy tool, the target range for the federal funds rate, but we did make significant changes in our policy statement. since the beginning of the year, we had been taking a patient stance toward assessing the need for any policy

fed listens events, which include town hall – style meetings in all 12 federal reserve districts. these meetings bring together people with wide - ranging perspectives, interests, and expertise. we also want to benefit from the insights of leading economic researchers. we recently held a conference at the federal reserve bank of chicago that combined research presentations by top scholars with roundtable discussions among leaders of organizations that serve union workers, low - and moderate - income communities, small businesses, and people struggling to find work. we have been listening. what have we heard? scholars at the chicago event offered a range of views on how well our monetary policy tools have effectively promoted our dual mandate. we learned more about cutting - edge ways to measure job market conditions. we heard the latest perspectives on what financial and trade links with the rest of the world mean for the conduct of monetary policy. we heard scholarly views on the interplay between monetary policy and financial stability. and we heard a review of the clarity and the efficacy of our communications. like many others at the conference, i was particularly struck by two panels that included people who work every day in low - and middle - income communities. what we heard, loud and clear, was that today ’ s tight labor markets mean that the benefits of this long recovery are now 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches reaching these communities to a degree that has not been felt for many years. we heard of companies, communities, and schools working together to bring employers the productive workers they need — and of employers working creatively to structure jobs so that employees can do their jobs while coping with the demands of family and life beyond the workplace. we heard that many people who, in the past, struggled to stay in the workforce are now getting an opportunity to add new and better chapters to their life stories. all of this underscores how important it is to sustain this expansion. the conference generated vibrant discussions. we heard that we are doing many things well, that we have much we can improve, and that there are different views about which is which. that disagreement is neither surprising nor unwelcome. the questions we are confronting about monetary policymaking and communication, particularly those relating to the elb, are difficult ones that have grown in urgency over the past two decades. that is why it is so important that we actively seek opinions, ideas, and critiques from people throughout the economy to refine our understanding of how best to use the monetary policy powers congress has granted us. beginning