Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard presented “The Initial Response to the Inflation Shock of 2021” at a meeting of the CFA Society St. Louis on Thursday. Bullard told the society that the U.S. pandemic recession ended 20 months ago, and that U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) has more than fully recovered and labor market performance continues to improve. However, he added that there was a significant unanticipated inflation shock in the U.S. during 2021. “With the real economy strong but inflation well above target, U.S. monetary policy has shifted to more directly combat inflation ... (full story)