Central bankers eye public spending to plug investment gap of US$1 trillion

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

WHILE markets await Janet Yellen's latest message about the direction of US monetary policy, the Federal Reserve chief and her colleagues already have one for politicians: the US economy needs more public spending to shift into higher gear.

In the past few weeks, Ms Yellen and three of the Fed's four other Washington-based governors have called in speeches and Congressional hearings for government infrastructure spending and other efforts to counter weak growth, sagging productivity improvements, and lagging business investment.