Atlanta Federal Reserve President On Valentine's Day: U.S. Economy Has Been 'Rather Frisky Lately'
Here's the Federal Reserve wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day.
"If I were thinking of the national economy as a love interest, I'd say she's been rather frisky lately, but I'm wary of being jilted," Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart said in a speech on Valentine's Day. "It's happened before, and my heart was broken."
Lockhart said that the recent positive economic news -- such as substantial job growth and an increase in lending -- has happened before during the weak recovery. It happened in 2010 and then again in 2011, and Lockhart doesn't want to be jilted yet again.
He noted that after strong job growth at the beginning of last year, there was a "swoon" in the spring and summer when job growth slowed, breaking his heart.
Lockhart's comments less than a week after a rush of tweets with the hashtag #fedvalentines swarmed the popular social media site, as economists, business journalists, and other Fed watchers described their love for the central bank with a bite of economic wit.
Lockhart even listed one of his favorite Fed Valentines: "You're a systemic risk to my heart."
Some Fed watchers were disappointed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not offer his own #fedvalentines during a housing speech on Friday, when the Fed Valentine craze picked up steam. But Bernanke did get plenty of love that day. Reuters reporter Pedro da Costa wrote after the speech, "Homebuilders heart Bernanke. Several rounds of applause in Orlando."
But the #FedValentines meme isn't over yet. One person continues to post economic pickup lines on a Tumblr with photos of Bernanke.
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The Huffington Post Bonnie Kavoussi First Posted: 02/14/2012 7:18 pm Updated: 02/14/2012 9:03 pm