In honor of Janet Yellen, the former President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, being recently elevated to "frontrunner" status for the chair of the Federal Reserve Board, I present a list of past quotations from Mrs. Yellen here. All emphasis is my own.
"While a tightening of credit to the subprime sector and foreclosures on existing properties have the potential to deepen the housing downturn, I do not consider it very likely that such developments will have a big effect on overall U.S. economic performance." - Speech to the Money Marketeers of New York University, April 26, 2007 (link)Of course, these events very much did have an impact on overall economic performance, and continue to do so today, some 6 years later.
