Federal Reserve System
The collateral squeeze of 2008
William Allen and Richhild Moessner analyse data from US commercial banks and Morgan Stanley in the months surrounding Lehman Brothers’ collapse
The inflation targeting debate: a case study in FOMC deliberation
Discussions among Federal Open Market Committee members in the mid1990s highlight two important lessons for central bankers, Marvin Goodfriend shows
Financial reform, Fed independence and the political economy of monetary policy
The 2010 Financial Reform Act will weaken the independence of the Federal Reserve. Looking at the central bank’s history and its political economy allows us to appreciate why, Thomas F. Cargill argues
Off with their Fed
The past six months have witnessed the Federal Reserve come under attack on issues ranging from its mandate to its discharge of its duties. Ramya Jaidev reports
Boston Fed paper on measures of bank output
Boston Federal Reserve study finds bias in methodology statistical agencies’ measurement of bank output
FOMC minutes on why yield curve is steepening
Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes explain steep rise in long-term Treasury yields
Fed’s Kohn appointed to Bank’s FPC
UK government names four external members to interim Financial Policy Committee; former Fed vice-chair Donald Kohn among three ex-central bankers appointed to macroprudential body
Dallas Fed paper on SNB crisis measures
Dallas Federal Reserve case study on success of Swiss National Bank liquidity provisions to foreign banks
NY Fed: consumer debt declines
New York Federal Reserve February 2011 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit shows aggregate consumer debt declined in fourth quarter of 2010
Fed’s Tarullo outlines OTC derivatives reform agenda
Federal Reserve governor Daniel Tarullo stresses importance of central counterparties, close scrutiny of market participants
Kansas City Fed paper on search frictions in monetary policy
Kansas City Federal Reserve paper finds evidence of indeterminacy in monetary policy in models with labour markets search frictions
Fed’s Raskin urges lenders to put housing market before profits
Federal Reserve Board member Sarah Raskin calls on mortgage service providers to take moral “high road” and place recovery in housing market before profits
Warsh quits Fed
Federal Reserve board member Kevin Warsh plans to step down from Fed seven years before term ends
NY Fed’s Sack: rise in long-term yields not down to inflation
New York Federal Reserve executive vice president Brian Sack says rise in longer-term interest rate reflects better growth outlook rather than rising inflationary pressures
Bernanke calls for fiscal retrenchment
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke calls on government to ease debt burden from health care and ageing population
Households contributing to recovery: Richmond Fed's Lacker
Richmond Federal Reserve president Jeffrey Lacker says pick-up in consumer spending an indication economic outlook is bright
Inflation often misunderstood: Atlanta Fed’s Lockhart
Atlanta Federal Reserve president Dennis Lockhart discusses common misuse of the term “inflation” in news reports
Monetary policy not responsible for land price bubbles: Minneapolis Fed’s Kocherlakota
Minneapolis Federal Reserve president Narayana Kocherlakota disputed claims that land price bubbles are a consequence of loose monetary policy
Fed wants right to choose which nonbanks pose systemic threat
Federal Reserve rule proposes that it will have discretion to determine whether nonbank financial firms come under Financial Stability Oversight Council’s watch on case-by-case basis
Unemployment rate will take several years to normalise: Bernanke
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke expects unemployment rate to take several years to return to normal levels
Securitisation limits debt renegotiations: Chicago Fed paper
Chicago Federal Reserve study says mortgage securitisation reduces likelihood of renegotiating debt and raises probability of foreclosures
NY Fed adds two primary dealers
MF Global and Société Générale Americas Securities join New York Fed’s cadre of primary dealers
Commercial real-estate levelling off: Fed director
Federal Reserve’s director of banking supervision and regulation Patrick Parkinson strikes cautiously optimistic note on health of commercial real estate sector
Duke defends Fed’s liquidity measures
Federal Reserve board member Elizabeth Duke says Fed bail-out was necessary for welfare of entire economy, not just banks