St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President in Effingham

James Bullard, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, spoke to members of the financial community, then held a general session over the noon hour sponsored by the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce before meeting with national media representatives.

Those representatives cover the economy for outlets such as Bloomberg, NPR and Reuters, indicative of the weight that what Bullard shares carries.

Bullard's tone throughout his noon hour remarks were generally positive. He noted that about the time of Donald Trump's election, economic growth was at 2% and the expectation was that it would remain at that growth rate. Instead, growth went past 3% before backing off in recent months, but Bullard said the growth rate remains above 2%.

There are sources of concern; global manufacturing is contracting, and domestic manufacturing is stalling. Bullard also noted that short-term securities are paying more than long-term securities and said "that isn't how it's supposed to be."

As far as global trade policy uncertainty, Bullard feels it's having more effect outside the US than it is domestically. He does feel the uncertainty is going to "drag on longer than expected, and will have a chilling effect on global investment."

The Federal Reserve also keeps tabs on inflation with a target goal of about 2%. Bullard, though, noted that inflation expectations are below target.