Fed’s Bullard Says Job Slump Hasn’t Changed Outlook

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said disappointing job creation hasn’t changed the U.S. economic outlook and the Fed should be careful not to prompt borrowing by consumers with excessive debt.

“Monetary policy has been ultra-easy during this period, but cannot reasonably encourage additional borrowing by households with too much debt,” Bullard said in remarks today to the Bipartisan Policy Center in St. Louis. “The recent nonfarm payrolls report was disappointing, but not enough to substantially alter the contours of the U.S. outlook.”