UPDATE:Fed's Fisher: Can See Some "Green Shoots" Of Recovery APRIL 8, 2009, 5:10 A.M. ET
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--The first "green shoots" of recovery can be seen in the U.S. economy as steps taken by the Federal Reserve Board and other U.S. authorities begin to take effect, Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, said Wednesday.
Speaking on a panel in Tokyo sponsored by the Japan Center for Economic Research, the Institute for International Monetary Affairs and the Japanese Bankers Association, Fisher defended the "creative destruction" inherent in capitalism and said a combination of "financial wherewithal" and fiscal stimulus can help the economy get back on its feet.
"We tend to be preoccupied with the current crisis. We tend to ignore the creative side of creative destruction," he said.
Asked whether the global balance of power was likely to shift away from the U.S. in the aftermath of a global financial crisis sparked by that country's housing bubble, Fisher said "the balance of power will either stay or shift to those that are the masters of creative destruction. I won't make the claim that the United States will maintain its hegemonic position in the world, but I will say we have as good a chance as anyone else of continuing to provide whatever balance we have provided to the world and whatever stability we have provided to the world whenever we recover from this current situation."
Fisher appeared on the panel after a speech in which he defended the Fed's efforts to salvage the U.S. economy and financial system.
"We are the central bank of the largest economy in the world, and we are duty bound to apply every tool we can to clean up the mess that our financial system has become and get back on the track of sustainable economic growth with price stability," he said in the speech.
During the panel discussion, Fisher said no one can accuse the Fed of being slow to react to the crisis. It was the magnitude of authorities' activism, rather than the speed, that had unsettled some in the markets.
"Whether those (steps) were sufficient or not, it's too early to tell," he said, but he added, "we're beginning to see some healthy signs." |
