FED: Gov Brainard's speech is a little dovish. She admits US policy has been
tempered by events abroad, says she wants to see evidence of inflation, worries
about oil and low infl expectations, China spillover. But speech topic is CB
policy divergence--which has been less than expected. She sums up, "with anemic
global demand and interest rates near zero, in some economies there is scope for
monetary policy to be more effective with fiscal policy working in the same
direction. With potential growth and nominal borrowing rates both low, public
investment that increases potential in the longer run and demand in the shorter
run could make an important contribution. A joint determination by policymakers
across major economies to better deploy policy tools to provide support for
global demand could be beneficial."