conflict economy, sri lanka recorded many important milestones. per capita income doubled to reach over us dollars 2, 900 in a relatively short period, thereby elevating the country to an “ emerging market economy ” status ; the economy grew to a robust us dollar 59 billion, from about us dollars 24 billion in 2004 ; inflation was controlled at single digits for more than four and a half years ; poverty levels reduced to around 6 percent from about 15 % ; unemployment reduced to less than 4 percent ; the quality of infrastructure was enhanced to a level comparable with many emerging market economies ; foreign reserves were maintained at over 6 billion us dollars ; the public debt was managed prudently so as to reduce the debt - to - gdp ratio from a high of 105 percent in 2003 to about 78 percent ; an over 8 percent economic growth was achieved in successive years 2010 and 2011 ; private foreign investment inflows into the government has exceeded us $ 7 billion ; the fiscal deficit was limited to 6. 4 % in 2012, from a high of 9. 9 % in 2009 ; the country ’ s doing business global rank has reached the 81st level, up from 102nd in 2010, while being poised to jump about 10 places this year ; regional development has made tangible progress and the western province share of gdp reduced to around 43 % from 51 % in 2005 ; regular foreign investment has flowed into banks and the stock market ; the banking system was maintained in a stable condition even in the midst of very difficult global circumstances. needless to say, the collective efforts that we have all put together to improve and sustain the positive outlook for our nation, have ensured a conducive investment bis central bankers ’ speeches atmosphere. in that regard, the stable inflation and the comparatively lower interest rate regime prevailing today, serves as an important support to businesses, by reducing the risk factors. moreover, the country ’ s peaceful environment, complemented by political stability, has been able to ensure the continued safety of investments, while providing a reasonable yield. in this context, the robust investment framework along the lines of the “ 5 + 1 ” hub concept, has now opened out new ventures in promoting maritime, aviation, energy, knowledge and commercial sectors, while tourism is emerging as a further thrust industry with great promise. my dear friends, those in the banking sector know very well that there were many special initiatives that were taken over the past several years at various times, in order to fashion and support this transformation. for purposes of complete

mr ferguson expresses his views on monetary policy and the outlook for the us economy remarks by mr roger w. ferguson, jr., a member of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, delivered at the east hanover area chamber of commerce, east hanover, new jersey on 15 / 1 / 99. the making of monetary policy thank you for inviting me to share lunch and a few thoughts with you today. i believe that it is important for the actions of this country ’ s central bank to be as transparent as possible, and therefore i am happy to address this audience on the topic of what the federal reserve actually does and how it does it. i will also try to give an assessment of the national and international issues affecting federal reserve policy. i hope that you will conclude from this discussion that, though the process of setting monetary policy is complex, it is nonetheless in many important ways accessible to the average citizen. i also hope that you will agree that there are really very few secrets ; we attempt to be as open as is responsible, which is appropriate in a democracy. history of the federal reserve system and the fomc the federal reserve was created by an act of congress on december 23, 1913. the federal reserve system consists of a seven - member board of governors ( an independent agency of the federal government with headquarters in washington, dc ), plus a nationwide network of 12 federal reserve banks and 25 branches. congress established the federal reserve banks as the operating arms of the nation ’ s central banking system, and they have both public and private elements. neither the board nor the reserve banks receive appropriations from congress. therefore, they do not operate with tax revenues, but rather pay expenses out of earnings. earnings of the federal reserve banks are derived primarily from interest received on their holdings of u. s. government securities and the fees they charge to depository institutions for providing services. all of the net earnings of the banks, after expenses, contributions to surplus and payment of other assessments, are aggregated and paid over to the u. s. treasury. in 1998, for example, the federal reserve paid approximately $ 26. 5 billion to the u. s. treasury. the federal open market committee, or fomc, is the most important monetary policy - making body of the federal reserve system. the fomc makes the key decisions regarding the conduct of open market operations ( purchases and sales of u. s. government securities ) which affect the cost and availability of money and credit