Federal Reserve System
Fed's Bernanke on implementing monetary policy
In a speech on 'Implementing monetary policy' given on 30 March, Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said it is in the Federal Reserve's best interest to communicate effectively with financial markets.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Feb 2005
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February 2005 was +0.37, up from +0.13 in January. All four broad categories of indicators that make up the index made positive contributions last month, according to the CFNAI.
Fed's Greenspan on empowering communities
In a speech on 'Empowering communities, attracting development capital, and creating opportunities' given on 18 March, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said better research is needed to gauge the success of programs that aim to lift communities out…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Mar 2005
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, March 2005, activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to expand, but at a slower rate than in February.
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Spring 2005
The St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine for Spring 2005 has been published. The latest edition contains an article which reports that for the first time in history, Americans are favouring electronic payments in greater dollar amounts than checking…
Fed's Bies on Bank Secrecy Act & compliance
In a speech on 'Bank Secrecy Act and capital compliance issues' given on 14 March, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said US regulators are drafting new guidelines for banks to comply with a law to stop money laundering.
Greenspan on Social Security program & retirement
In testimony on the 'Future of the Social Security program and economics of retirement' given on 15 March Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve issued a fresh call to Congress to move promptly to put Social Security on firm financial footing, warning…
Richmond Fed's Economic Quarterly, Winter 2005
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has published its Economic Quarterly for Winter 2005. The paper "Inflation and changing expenditure shares" measures the contribution of changing expenditure shares to inflation behavior by constructing alternative…
Fed's Bernanke on the global saving glut
In a speech on 'The global saving glut and the U.S. current account deficit' given on 10 March, Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said a global savings glut has pushed up the U.S. current account gap and pushed down long-term interest rates.
Fed's Greenspan on globalization
In a speech on 'Globalization' given on 10 March, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said that future budget deficits pose a bigger risk to the economy than record trade imbalances and the country's extremely low savings rate.
NY Fed's Economic Policy Review prize article
The Editorial Board of the New York Fed's Economic Policy Review has announced the first winner of the Frederic S. Mishkin Prize for Outstanding Paper: "Treasury inflation-indexed debt: A review of the U.S. experience," by Brian Sack and Robert Elsasser.
Fed's Greenspan on bank regulation
In a speech on 'Bank regulation' given on 11 March, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve acknowledged that a new global pact on banking may hurt some business lines at small U.S. banks, but said regulators may look at tweaking capital rules to ease this.
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, March 2005
The Federal Reserve published its March 2005 Beige Book survey on Wednesday 9 March. The report said steady consumer spending and continued factory output boosted the US economy in February.
Fed's Bernanke on the economic outlook
In the speech 'The economic outlook' given on 8 March Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the US economy was off to a solid start this year and that core inflation should stay in a zone that allows the Fed to raise interest rates at a "measured"…
Fed's Olson on loan quality and the economy
In a speech on 'Loan quality and how it reflects the overall economy' given on 28 February, Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said economic growth is steady while inflation remains under control.
Fed's Gramlich on raising national saving
In a speech on 'The importance of raising national saving' given on 2 March, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said the United States would seem well-advised to minimize risks by raising its own national saving to finance its own investment.
Greenspan promotes consumption tax idea
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in testimony on Thursday 3 March that some form of a consumption tax - such as a national sales tax - could spur greater economic growth but stressed a move to such a system would pose considerable problems.
Greenspan stresses need for spending cuts
Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday 2 March that the US economy is growing at a reasonably good pace but the country must tackle its "unsustainable" budget deficits, primarily through spending cuts.
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Mar/Apr 2005
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for March-April 2005 includes the article "Communication, transparency, accountability: Monetary policy in the twenty-first century" by Otmar Issing. The issue also includes a paper by Ellen Meade titled …
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Jan 2005
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January 2005 was +0.21, down from +0.59 in December. However, all four broad categories of indicators that comprise the index made positive contributions to the January CFNAI.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Feb 2005
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, February 2005, expansion in the region's manufacturing sector is growing at a slightly faster rate than in January.
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its First Quarter 2005 Survey of Professional Forecasters. Economic growth in the first half of 2005 looks stronger now than it did three months ago, according to 36 forecasters surveyed.
A framework for financial stability
Five questions must be answered by those looking for a way to formulate policy in financial stability, says Andrew Haldane.
Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report, Feb 2005
Presenting the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday 16 February, Alan Greenspan said in the seven months since he last testified before the Committee, the US economic expansion has firmed, overall inflation has subsided,…