Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard discussed “The Tapering Debate: Data and Tools,” at the Financial Forum hosted by the St. Louis Regional Chamber on Friday. Bullard noted that current U.S. monetary policy has two components: 1) a short-term policy rate, which has been near zero since December 2008, and its associated forward guidance, and 2) an asset purchase program that began in September 2012, with purchases currently at a pace of $85 billion per month. At its meeting earlier this week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) made no changes to the pace of asset purchases. “Any FOMC ... (full story)