Job hole or inflation? Fed policymakers split over risk view

On one side are Robert Kaplan (pic) and James Bullard, the chiefs of the Dallas and St. Louis Fed banks, respectively. On Thursday they separately warned that inflation could rise higher and stay high longer than many of their colleagues may anticipate.

As Federal Reserve policymakers begin an intense debate over when they should begin to pull back some of the massive support they are delivering to the economy, they are split over what poses the bigger risk: a still-large jobs deficit or a potential inflation shock.

On one side are Robert Kaplan and James Bullard, the chiefs of the Dallas and St. Louis Fed banks, respectively. On Thursday they separately warned that inflation could rise higher and stay high longer than many of their colleagues may anticipate.