Yellen To Deliver 'Major Speech' On Economy Shortly

14:00 ET 19:00 GMT: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will shortly deliver a ‘major speech’ on the economy at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago. Livestream

• The speech may lay the groundwork for a pivot towards the economy from Biden administration officials ahead of the general election, especially in light of today's GDP report which exceeded expectations.
• Bloomberg reports: "US economy’s fourth-quarter growth trounced forecasts as cooling inflation fueled consumer spending, capping a surprisingly strong year that defied recession calls. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.3% annualized rate, according to the government’s preliminary estimate out Thursday. For all of 2023, the economy expanded 2.5%."
• Yellen will say: “Though some forecasters thought a recession last year was inevitable, President Biden and I did not. Instead of contracting, the economy has continued to grow, driven by American workers and President Biden’s economic strategy. It now produces far more goods and services than it did before the pandemic.”
• The speech comes as polling indicates that immigration has overtaken inflation as the most important issue for Americans, suggesting that a steady flow of promising economic data may be trickling down to voters.
• Yellen will also highlight major infrastructure investments and warn that a second Trump administration would neglect ‘left-behind’ communities: “Our country’s infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades. In the Trump administration, the idea of doing anything to fix it was a punchline. But this administration has delivered.”