Thank you for inviting me to participate in your event today. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you about my outlook for the nation’s economy and look forward to our discussion. As we turn the calendar to a new year, the opportunity to reflect on the past and to look ahead to the future is a time-honored tradition. Today I will do a little of both. Last year was one for the record books. The year had both the largest decline in quarterly GDP on record as well as the largest increase. The unemployment rate hit a 50-year low before climbing to levels not seen since the Great Depression. The equity market set ... (full story)