The soon-to-be-confirmed Mr. Chairwoman had plenty to say - none of which came as a great surprise. Overall we scored her comments 32 Dovish to 18 Hawkish (which fits with all pre-conceved ideas about the size of her index-finger in relation to the 'print' button). A few cherubs include:
- *YELLEN SAYS BENEFITS OF QE STILL EXCEED THE COSTS
- *YELLEN SAYS QE `CANNOT CONTINUE FOREVER'
- *YELLEN DOESN'T SEE ASSET BUBBLE IN HOUSING PRICES
- *YELLEN SAYS QE IS NOT AIMED AT HELPING TO FINANCE U.S. DEFICIT
- *YELLEN: NO ONE HAS A GOOD MODEL ON WHAT INFLUENCES GOLD PRICES
She covered fiscal policy, regulation, gold, income inequality, and bubbles; but it was her admission late in the Q&A that "real" unemployment is around 10% that perhaps leaves the most room for moar...
Full transcript and worldcloud to come...
Dovish
*YELLEN SAYS SHE WOULD BE STRONGLY COMMITTED TO PROMOTE RECOVERY
*YELLEN SAYS JOBLESS RATE REMAINS HIGH
*YELLEN SAYS LONG PERIODS OF UNEMPLOYMENT `PARTICULARLY PAINFUL'
*YELLEN SAYS BENEFITS OF QE STILL EXCEED THE COSTS
*YELLEN: MUST NOT REMOVE SUPPORT WHILE RECOVERY IS `FRAGILE'
*YELLEN SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT NOT TO REMOVE SUPPORT TOO SOON
*YELLEN SAYS FOMC COMMITTED TO 2 PERCENT INFLATION GOAL
*YELLEN SAYS LOWER MORTGAGE RATES KEY TO HELPING HOUSING RECOVER
*YELLEN SEES `NO SET TIME' FOR TAPERING QE
*YELLEN SAYS WEAK DEMAND IS `A MAJOR DRAG' ON ECONOMY
*YELLEN SAYS FED DOESN'T SEE BUILDUP OF FINANCIAL RISKS
*YELLEN SEES LIMITED EVIDENCE OF `REACH FOR YIELD'
*YELLEN SAYS FED DOESN'T SEE BROAD BUILD-UP OF LEVERAGE
*YELLEN DOESN'T SEE `MISALIGNMENTS' IN ASSET PRICES
*YELLEN SAYS BROADER UNEMPLOYMENT GAUGES HIGHER THAN 7.3 PERCENT
*YELLEN SAYS POLICY AIMED TO `BROADLY BENEFIT ALL AMERICANS'
*YELLEN SAYS RECOVERY HAS BEEN `DISAPPOINTING'
*YELLEN WOULDN'T SUPPORT ANY REDUCTION IN FED POLICY LEEWAY
*YELLEN SAYS ECONOMY HAS SUFFERED A DRAG FROM FISCAL POLICY
*YELLEN SAYS STIMULUS BOOST TO HOME PRICES `BROADLY BENEFICIAL'
*YELLEN: FED NEEDS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT POLICY IMPACT ON MARKETS
*YELLEN SAYS NORMAL ECONOMY WILL RESTORE `NORMAL RATES'
*YELLEN SAYS FED WILL TRY TO MITIGATE INTEREST RATE RISK
*YELLEN SAYS FISCAL POLICY HAS WORKED AGAINST MONETARY POLICY
*YELLEN SAYS FED `WORRIED ABOUT A FRAGILE RECOVERY'
*YELLEN SAYS FED VERY FOCUSED ON ACHIEVING DUAL MANDATE
*YELLEN SAYS FED INTENT ON AVOIDING DEFLATION
*YELLEN SAYS FED MADE PROGRESS ON EMPLOYMENT, `NOT THERE YET'
*YELLEN DOESN'T SEE ASSET BUBBLE IN HOUSING PRICES
*YELLEN SAYS LOW INTEREST RATES WILL GET ECONOMY BACK TO NORMAL
*YELLEN SAYS SAVERS HAVE BROADER ARRAY OF INTERESTS IN ECONOMY
*YELLEN SAYS SHE'D LIKE TO SEE JOB MARKET RECOVER MORE RAPIDLY
Hawkish
*YELLEN SEEKS `SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT' IN LABOR MARKET OUTLOOK
*YELLEN SEEKS `STRONG' AND ROBUST RECOVERY
*YELLEN: FOMC HAS TOOLS TO REMOVE STIMULUS TO LIMIT INFLATION
*YELLEN SEES `IMPROVEMENT IN THE LABOR MARKET'
*YELLEN SAYS QE `CANNOT CONTINUE FOREVER'
*YELLEN SAYS FED TAKES RISKS OF QE `VERY SERIOUSLY'
*YELLEN SAYS FOMC UNDERSTANDS RISKS THE LONGER QE CONTINUES
*YELLEN SAYS `WE ARE EXPECTING CONTINUED PROGRESS GOING FORWARD'
*YELLEN SAYS FED NEEDS TO MONITOR POTENTIAL FINANCIAL RISKS
*YELLEN SAYS FED LOOKS OUT FOR ANY POTENTIAL ASSET PRICE BUBBLES
*YELLEN: MONETARY POLICY A `BLUNT TOOL' AGAINST ASSET BUBBLES
*YELLEN SAYS LOW RATES `CAN INDUCE RISKY BEHAVIOR'
*YELLEN WOULDN'T RULE OUT MONETARY POLICY TO FIX MISALIGNMENTS
*YELLEN: FED TO ENSURE BIG BANKS HOLD MORE, BETTER CAPITAL
*YELLEN EXPECTS GROWTH RATE TO PICK UP
*YELLEN SAYS SHE SUPPORTED AS MANY AS 27 MAIN RATE INCREASES
*YELLEN SAYS FED HAS TOOLS TO AVERT EMERGENCE OF ASSET BUBBLE
*YELLEN SAYS FED NEEDS TO WATCH INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE
On QE
*YELLEN SEES `DANGERS' ON BOTH SIDES OF ENDING QE TOO EARLY
*YELLEN SAYS QE HAS MADE `MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION' TO GROWTH
*YELLEN SAYS QE HAS HELPED PUSH DOWN INTEREST RATES
*YELLEN SAYS LOWER INTEREST RATES HELPING HOMEOWNERS
*YELLEN SAYS QE IS NOT AIMED AT HELPING TO FINANCE U.S. DEFICIT
*YELLEN SAYS POLICY HAS BOOSTED STOCKS `TO SOME EXTENT'
*YELLEN SAYS FED SHOULD NEVER BE `A PRISONER OF THE MARKETS'
*YELLEN SAYS `SAVERS ARE HURT' BY LOW INTEREST RATE POLICY
But Never expected QE to work...
*YELLEN SAYS FOMC LAST YEAR EXPECTED LITTLE PROGRESS ON JOBS
On Supervision
*YELLEN SAYS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR BANKS TO HAVE MORE CAPITAL
*YELLEN SAYS FED `VERY FOCUSED' ON BROAD FINANCAIL STABILITY
*YELLEN SAYS ADDRESSING TOO-BIG-TO-FAIL AMONG TOP GOALS
*YELLEN SAYS U.S. WILL RAISE CAPITAL STANDARDS FOR BIG BANKS
*YELLEN SAYS TOO-BIG-TO-FAIL FIRMS GET DE FACTO SUBSIDY
*YELLEN: U.S. FINANCIAL SYSTEM SAFER, SOUNDER THAN PRE-CRISIS
*YELLEN: FED IN COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF BANK COMMODITY ACTIVITY
*YELLEN SAYS FED `RAMPING UP' MONITORING OF FINANCIAL STABILITY
*YELLEN SAYS FED `MASSIVELY REVAMPED' SUPERVISION OF BIG BANKS
*YELLEN SAYS SUPERVISION JUST AS IMPORTANT AS MONETARY POLICY
On Jobs
*YELLEN SAYS FULL EMPLOYMENT RANGES FROM 5 PERCENT TO 6 PERCENT
*YELLEN SAYS `ALL TOO MANY PEOPLE' HAVE LEFT LABOR FORCE
*YELLEN SEES `WIDENING WAGE INEQUALITY' SINCE MID-1980S
*YELLEN SAYS FED POLICIES `MEANT TO GENERATE A ROBUST RECOVERY'
*YELLEN SAYS SHE'D LIKE TO SEE JOB MARKET RECOVER MORE RAPIDLY
*YELLEN SAYS FASTER U.S. GROWTH WOULD BUOY JOB MARKET
*YELLEN SAYS INCOME INEQUALITY `VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM'
*YELLEN SAYS `MANY THINGS' AT ROOT OF INCOME INEQUALITY
*YELLEN SAYS `ROBUST RECOVERY' WOULD HELP MITIGATE INEQUALITY
And On Gold...
*YELLEN: NO ONE HAS A GOOD MODEL ON WHAT INFLUENCES GOLD PRICES
*YELLEN SAYS GOLD OFTEN USED AS A HAVEN AGAINST RISK
Other
*YELLEN SAYS FOMC REGULARLY ASSESSES GROWTH, JOBS PROGRESS
*YELLEN SAYS SHE HOPES FOR STRONGER WAGE GROWTH
*YELLEN SAYS SHE STRONGLY SUPPORTS TRANSPARENCY AT FED
*YELLEN SAYS FED NEEDS TO RETAIN POLICY INDEPENDENCE
*YELLEN: FED SHOULD BE FREE OF `SHORT-TERM POLITICAL PRESSURES'
*YELLEN SAYS FED WILL WITHDRAW STIMULUS WHILE SUSTAINING GROWTH
*YELLEN SAYS DEFICIT REDUCTION SHOULD FOCUS ON MEDIUM-TERM GAINS
*YELLEN FAVORS FISCAL POLICY THAT `DID NO HARM'
*YELLEN SAYS U.S. DEBT DEFAULT WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC
*YELLEN SAYS FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY A CRITICAL GOAL
Via Bloomberg