Federal Reserve System
Big cutback at New York Fed
The New York Fed's Buffalo regional office has announced that it will cut 60 of its 130 jobs in a nationwide restructuring of its retail securities business, officials said on Thursday 18 December.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, November 2003
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) November 2003 was published on 18 December. The November CFNAI points to solid gains in economic activity and reached its highest value since March 2000 at +0.55. Three of the four broad categories of…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Dec 2003
Activity in the region's manufacturing sector continued to expand, according to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, December 2003. Noteworthy increases were recorded for key indicators shipments, new orders, and…
Philadelphia Fed index rises dramatically
The Philadelphia Fed's general economic index this month registered 32.1 compared with 25.9 in November. It represents the highest level in a decade with more factories hiring workers than at any time since April 1973, the report said.
SF Fed says regional economy on the upswing
The San Francisco Fed said in its quarterly update on Tuesday that information from District contacts suggests that the pickup in employment is not transitory but indicative of a more fundamental change in business conditions. The San Francisco Fed has…
Greenspan-Capitalism and the role of globalization
In a speech on 'Capitalism and the role of globalization' given on 11 December, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said debates on the pros and cons of market capitalism have waged for generations. The collapse of the Soviet empire, and with it…
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 4th Quarter 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its regular Business Review for the Fourth Quarter 2003. In the latest issue President Santomero outlines what the Federal Reserve is doing to promote economic education and explains why knowledge is…
Fed's Ferguson on the New Basel Accord
In a speech on 'Concerns and Considerations for the Practical Implementation of the New Basel Accord' given on 2 December, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said he believed international bank regulators could nail down the final details of the Basel…
Does Greenspan deserve another term?
Posing the question, "Does Greenspan deserve another term?" Joseph Salerno, who teaches economics at Pace University, answers with a resounding NO! Not only had the Fed's performance been "outstandingly bad" during the Greenspan years, it says, but the…
Olson on functional regulation, modernisation
In a speech on 'Functional Regulation and Financial Modernization' given on 22 November, Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said the American economy's torrid third-quarter growth was spurred by the biggest monetary and fiscal stimulus jolt since World…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, October 2003
CFNAI indicates economy continued to grow in October - The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) released 20 November was +0.01 in October, a small decline from the September reading of +0.16.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Nov 2003
Activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to expand, according to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, November 2003. The manufacturers remain optimistic about activity over the next six months.
Fed's Kohn on inflation targeting
In a speech to the St Louis Fed Inflation Targeting: Prospects and Problems Conference given on 17 October, Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said he believes that those who propose changes from a good system have a high burden of proof. The marginal…
Fed's Greenspan on the current account deficit
In a speech given on 20 November, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said should globalization be allowed to proceed and thereby create an ever more flexible international financial system, history suggests that current imbalances will be defused with…
Richmond Fed's Broaddus: Macroeconomic Principles
In a speech on 'Macroeconomic Principles and Monetary Policy' given on 14 November, J. Alfred Broaddus, Jr. of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said that while carefully monitoring incoming data and the evolution of the near-term outlook for the…
Fed's Ferguson on regulatory capital
In a speech on 'The Proposed U.S. Approach to Regulatory Capital: An Update' given on 13 November, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said he considers the recent decisions reached by the Basel Committee to be a very good example of how supportable…
Fed's Ferguson on Basel II updates
In a speech on 'The Proposed U.S. Approach to Regulatory Capital: An Update', given on 13 November Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said we do not expect to slacken the high standards expected of banks operating under the advanced approaches for…
Chicago Fed's Moskow: Rates to stay low
Michael Moskow said on Thursday 13 November, according to Reuters, that the Federal Reserve plans to keep interest low for a considerable period of time. The Chicago Fed President, who is a voting member of the FOMC, told a panel discussion "All of the…
Moskow: No reason to change accommodative stance
Michael Moskow, the Chicago Fed president, said on Monday US jobs growth was encouraging and it was important to continue the relaxed monetary stance the FOMC currently holds, to provide some "insurance" against an unwelcome bout of disinflation, Reuters…
Greenspan on the outlook for the US economy
In a speech to the Securities Industry Association annual meeting on 6 November Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said soaring government budget deficits threaten the US economy in the long term and must be brought under control. But striking an…
Fed's Bernanke on the jobless recovery
In the speech 'The Jobless Recovery' given on 6 November Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve noted "a few encouraging signs" have appeared that a lengthy jobs slump was easing. "So far these signals of recovery remain tentative; on the basis of the…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Nov/Dec 2003
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for November-December 2003 includes an article by St Louis Fed President William Poole "Fed Transparency: How, Not Whether", "Burgernomics: A Big Mac Guide to Purchasing Power Parity", and "Banking…
Fed chief Greenspan hints end near for low rates
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested on 6 November that the end may be in sight for very low interest rates. Greenspan gave an optimistic assessment of the US economy's prospects for strong growth and appeared to depart from the FOMC's commitment to…
Fed's Pianalto says US jobs lag unusual
Speaking Wednesday 5 November Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Sandra Pianalto said normally it would be expected to take only around two years for the US to recover the number of jobs lost in recession, Reuters reported.