Washington People: Fed Vice Chairman: No Decision Yet On Leaving the

Rumors were flying last week that Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Alan Blinder was going to leave Washington and head back to Princeton University to teach economics next spring.

Mr. Blinder issued a statement on Wednesday to let everyone know he has not made up his mind to return to academics. His term on the seven-member Fed board expires Jan. 31.

"I haven't made any decision, and, as far as I know, the President of the United States hasn't made any decision," Mr. Blinder said.

Charles Jones, an assistant economics professor at Princeton, said that while his department would love to see Mr. Blinder rejoin the faculty, "the probabilities of his return have not changed in the last few months.

"We knew he was entertaining the notion, but we are not really going to believe it until we see him here. Obviously, we are hopeful that he will come back."

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Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyo., last week just as President Clinton wrapped up his two weeks of rest and relaxation at the mountain resort.

Mr. Greenspan traveled west for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's annual economic policy retreat, which attracts central bankers from around the world. Mr. Greenspan kicked off the conference Friday morning with a speech on the importance of reducing the budget deficit.

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Before he left Washington, Mr. Greenspan sat down for a half-hour chat with fellow financial regulator Marsha Pyle Martin, chairman of the Farm Credit Administration, which oversees the $65 billion-asset Farm Credit System.

"We talked about the cost of money," Ms. Martin said. "He was interested that the law that prohibits the Farm Credit System from charging lower rates than its competitors."

Asked if Mr. Greenspan, who deliberately clouds his public statements, was comprehensible in private, Ms. Martin responded, "Oh, absolutely."

Ms. Martin, who has been on the job since October 1994, has been making a point of meeting with her higher-profile counterparts.

"You never know when we might work together," she said.

Still on her list of people to see is Comptroller of the Currency Eugene A. Ludwig. "It's been interesting to see how very similar the actions that this agency has been taking are to what the OCC has been doing," she said, adding, "I do steal some things from him."

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