Source
stringclasses
1 value
Date
int64
1.98k
2.01k
Text
stringlengths
2
27.1k
Token_count
int64
1
5.57k
fomc
1,979
Yes, we have to look at the 7 and who wants the--
15
fomc
1,979
1'11 go with your aggregates if you go with my interest rate. You can go another half percent--
22
fomc
1,979
We have to resolve this. How do I do it? I have to take some votes here on several options. Just on M1, I'm going to try 3 to 8, 4 to 8, and 3 to 7. Let's start with 3 to 7. How many of those who vote would buy 3 to 1 percent? One, two, three, four, five. I'll buy it, which makes six. Well, wait a minute; I may not. Co...
117
fomc
1,979
In preference to 3 to 7 ?
9
fomc
1,979
Which one of the three--3 to 7, 3 to 8 , or 4 to 8. We're going to use those three choices for a moment; take only one. At 3 to 7 percent, I had five hands up. All right now 3 to 8 percent. John.
65
fomc
1,979
1'11 [change] to 3 to 8.
13
fomc
1,979
All right, we'll change it; we have 4 for 3 to 7 percent. Right? And 3 to 8 percent suits me. That's two. Okay, let's try 4 to 8 percent. That's two. That adds up to 8, so two people didn't vote; two people want something different. All you folks at 3 to 7 go to 3 to 8, and all you folks at 4 to 8 go to 3 to 8. Okay? N...
216
fomc
1,979
Isn't that right where we started Out?
9
fomc
1,979
No, it's changed; it's absolutely changed. How many tentatively [can accept that], without voting [officially]. Paul.
26
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
John.
2
fomc
1,979
No, but for the other reason.
8
fomc
1,979
Which reason?
3
fomc
1,979
The money market directive
4
fomc
1,979
Okay. Bob?
4
fomc
1,979
I agree with John, Mr. Chairman
8
fomc
1,979
Phil Coldwell.
4
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
Bones Kimbrel.
5
fomc
1,979
Yes sir.
3
fomc
1,979
Bob Mayo.
3
fomc
1,979
Yes.
2
fomc
1,979
Yes. M S . TEETERS. Yes.
10
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
So it's four and five. What if we change it to an aggregates directive? Let's try again with an aggregates directive.
24
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
Yes.
2
fomc
1,979
Yes.
2
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
Yes.
2
fomc
1,979
Yes
1
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
There we are again! I suggest we go to the next subject and have lunch. I knew we were going to have no directive today! Okay. The next agenda item is--. I forgot to tell you that I have some information that will not be public until this afternoon so you're not to disclose it, but the housing starts for February have ...
128
fomc
1,979
No.
2
fomc
1,979
No news to you.
5
fomc
1,979
Maybe after that we can reach a consensus.
9
fomc
1,979
Do you want to vote again?
7
fomc
1,979
What would it take to get two aggregates directive people on line for the [money market] directive?
20
fomc
1,979
Four is the lower limit for me.
8
fomc
1,979
What is? Four?
5
fomc
1,979
That's certainly better.
4
fomc
1,979
All right, let's try that one. I knew we'd get a compromise here. I threatened to leave it [and stay with the existing directive].
29
fomc
1,979
You're going to try 4 to 8 percent on Ml?
13
fomc
1,979
Murray, we're going to take one more stab at a vote. Then we're going on to the next topic. We're going to use the same fed funds range, which is 9-3/4 to 10-1/2 percent and [initially] we're going to maintain the present fed funds rate of 10 to 10-1/8 percent; we're going to have M1 at 4 to 8 percent and M2 at 4 to 8-...
164
fomc
1,979
I'll vote yes, so the vote is 7 to 3. It's sort of simple! Would any of the dissenters like to change their minds?
31
fomc
1,979
Do you have an April housing starts figure for me?
11
fomc
1,979
This is the water shed. The fever has broken and next month we will have a unanimous vote. Now we will go to the next subject, which is consideration of the Manager's recommendation with respect to foreign currency operations. Alan Holmes .
47
fomc
1,979
[Statement--see Appendix.]
6
fomc
1,979
Thank you very much, Alan. Quite an unwinding job. Now we need to have a discussion of the question that was brought before the Committee previously and that is holding balances in foreign currencies. The Committee previously authorized the holding of up to $500 million in foreign currencies. But it was the desire of t...
144
fomc
1,979
Mr. Chairman, I believe the two supporting memoranda provide the Committee with the various arguments in some depth--with some differing points of view--and I don't feel it is necessary to review those arguments orally. Mr. Holmes and I have recommended raising the informal limit on balances to the neighborhood of $2 b...
235
fomc
1,979
Do you have a question for Steve, before we hear from Alan?
14
fomc
1,979
No sir, I'll wait.
6
fomc
1,979
Mr. Chairman, I don't have very much to add. The only thing I would stress is that because we have been in the forefront of this activity for a very short period of time we were able to buy $2-3/4 billion in foreign currency. Now, that type of period may not repeat itself, yet it could. So to give us flexibility I woul...
172
fomc
1,979
Fine. Thank you very much, Alan. Now, Larry, we will come back to your question or comment.
23
fomc
1,979
Mr. Chairman, I'm concerned about one bit of verbiage where reference is made to two possible policies. One says u . S . policy is aimed at countering short-run disorderly market conditions. Then there is explicit wording in the Morton-Truman memo which says that if U.S. policy is also designed to resist exchange marke...
140
fomc
1,979
I don't think anyone is suggesting pegging, but the whole November program was based on the thought that the dollar had gotten out of line, it had gone [down] too far. Now, that is a very rough judgment. It's not pegging.
51
fomc
1,979
Whose judgment is that, Alan?
8
fomc
1,979
I think that was a collective judgment of the Administration, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve.
19
fomc
1,979
I might mention, Larry, that at Henry's suggestion the staff prepared some data on a series of currencies, looking from 1973 to date at price adjusted exchange rate indices. In other words, the weighted average [exchange rates] would be adjusted by CPI indices. It might be worth sending this to the members of the Commi...
316
fomc
1,979
I see.
3
fomc
1,979
Next [on my list of people who want to comment] is Chuck, then Bones, Phil, and Henry. Chuck.
25
fomc
1,979
Mr. Chairman, I have real concern about the Federal Reserve holding substantial foreign currency balances. I don't think it's the appropriate thing for us to do. I've never liked the idea of U.S. institutions in general holding large foreign balances. [It means they] aren't financing their primary activity of spending ...
264
fomc
1,979
Government securities.
3
fomc
1,979
The one [reference] says government securities; the other doesn't. The other says foreign currency securities. Then [the memo1 goes on to say that we can get around the law. I don't think that's an appropriate thing for the Federal Reserve to do--to find a way to get around the law. If we have a need for relatively sma...
163
fomc
1,979
Could we have some clarification of the legal point?
10
fomc
1,979
What is the legal point? Paul is asking about the legal point of holding foreign currencies.
18
fomc
1,979
We cannot hold foreign government liabilities
6
fomc
1,979
Just government, right?
5
fomc
1,979
We can hold private--
5
fomc
1,979
My assumption always has been that [the authority to hold foreign government securities] was not put in the Act originally because in those days there was not much deficit financing; there weren't many foreign government securities. What [central banks] held in those days were acceptances, deposits or some other form. ...
65
fomc
1,979
I am not a lawyer but my impression is that the Act described what was typically held by a central bank and it has not been revised over these many years.
32
fomc
1,979
Well, why the prohibition on foreign government securities if it is--
13
fomc
1,979
There weren't any.
4
fomc
1,979
It just wasn't listed.
5
fomc
1,979
Did they prohibit everything that there wasn't anything of?
10
fomc
1,979
They listed what we could hold. Is that what you're saying?
13
fomc
1,979
That's right.
3
fomc
1,979
It's the absence of a security that didn't exist. It didn't exist so it's not on the list.
20
fomc
1,979
Oh. so they didn't prohibit it?
8
fomc
1,979
It's not prohibited. It's just not listed as one of the assets that we might hold, primarily I think because none [existed] at the time the Act was written.
35
fomc
1,979
That's quite different, I think. There was no expressed desire to prohibit. There were just no such securities around, so they didn't list them.
29
fomc
1,979
I think it's that simple.
6
fomc
1,979
Bones.
2
fomc
1,979
Mr. Chairman, maybe I'm [approaching] the problem from a slightly different angle but I think it may be prudent action to acquire some of these [currencies]. My question, though, is that I'm not sure I followed Alan when he was suggesting the dimensions. The numbers you suggested were $500 million and then $2 billion. ...
76
fomc
1,979
As you recall--1 think it was at the February meeting--we had been running with an informal limit of $150 million. There was nothing formal about that [limit], but it was an informal one that we had always respected at the Desk. In February I noted that we were making some progress in repaying [our swap debt] and I sug...
170
fomc
1,979
That, of course, was built up when the dollar was weak. Now we're going to build up a risk when the dollar is strong.
28
fomc
1,979
That's right. We're trying to be a little more symmetrical on our asset and liability sides.
18
fomc
1,979
Phil Coldwell.
4
fomc
1,979
Mr. Chairman, I don't resist the idea of building up a small kitty. I do have some resistance to the idea of an excessive amount in a single currency. So I think we ought to limit the amount in a single currency to a billion dollars, partly to limit potential exchange losses and partly to avoid pressures in terms of th...
306
fomc
1,979
Thank you, Phil. Henry.
7
fomc
1,979
Well, I believe we should think very carefully about what we're doing here; $2 billion is not a large amount and can be a perfectly good means of enhancing our operations. It could be the first step into a totally different world. If we ever got to a very bullish dollar situation, which is not inconceivable, and we wan...
439
fomc
1,979
Thank you, Henry. Paul.
7
fomc
1,979
Well, what I have to say is more or less along the lines of what Henry was just talking about. Let me state it perhaps slightly differently. I don't see this as an issue at this point. It may be a nice issue but I assume we're not being asked now to go out and acquire a substantial amount of foreign currencies to hold ...
250
fomc
1,979
It seems to me that what has been recommended is by no means a suggestion that we become symmetrical. When we were talking about going short we were talking about some $20 billion dollars--more than that actually [including] the Treasury and ourselves--that we would borrow and have to pay back. If we were being symmetr...
81
fomc
1,979
Between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve- -
9
fomc
1,979
We would have $30 billion on one side and $30 billion on the other side, a $60 billion band. No one would want to do that. I don't have a strong feeling on this, but the question before the Committee is: Do we at least want to deal in what is less than one swap line--in a series of currencies on the long side--as a way...
284
fomc
1,979
M r . Chairman, our suggestion was that at the moment we would be contemplating three currencies. But we would assume that the possibility of the Desk holding minor amounts of other currencies would not be excluded.
40
fomc
1,979
But it wouldn't be the world's mix of currencies, I take it.
14