The Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy Loretta J Mester-President and CEO-Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland-The Forecasters Club of New York-New York, NY-April 16, 2015

Good afternoon. I would like to start by thanking Charlie Steindel and the Forecasters Club of New York for their invitation to speak today. It is a particular pleasure for me to address your group: first, because I have known Charlie for many years – we both grew up as economists in the Federal Reserve System – but also because I know I won’t have to explain to you what a difficult task economic forecasting can be, even in the best of times. Still, forecasting is something economists and policymakers must do, so today I will discuss my outlook for the economy and monetary policy. As always, the views I’ll present are my own and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve System or my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee.