United States
Bernanke on the semiannual monetary policy report
In testimony to Congress given on 14 February Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said the Fed was still debating how to improve its communication skills, and insisted that there was yet room for improvement.
Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report, Feb 2007
The Federal Reserve published its February 2007 Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday 14 February. Ben Bernanke told Congress that the US economy should grow modestly this year and he maintained the Fed's forecast that inflation will…
Bernanke in a democratic lion's den
According to this article from Dow Jones, published Tuesday 13 February, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hope not to become a snack this week when he walks into a Democratic lion's den.
Central bank independence and inflation: A note
This Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Working Paper documents increased central bank independence within the set of industrialized nations.
Kansas Fed's Hoenig on competitive capital levels
In the speech 'Ensuring adequate and competitive capital levels in a rapidly changing banking environment' given on 5 February Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said for new capital standards and the remainder of our supervisory…
IMF's de Rato says G7 open minded on gold sales
International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations were "open-minded" about allowing the Fund to sell part of its gold reserves.
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published its First Quarter 2007 Survey of Professional Forecasters on 13 February. Two measures of core inflation in the U.S. economy will decelerate in 2007 and hold nearly steady over the following two years,…
St Louis Fed's Poole on state of the U.S. economy
In the speech 'State of the U.S. economy' given on 9 February William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warned that unexpectedly strong growth could spur the Fed to raise interest rates again.
Cleveland Fed's new Head of Banking Supervision
Stephen Jenkins has been appointed senior vice president responsible for the banking supervision function at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, effective 1 March 2007.
IMF's Portugal at the Debt Managers Conference
In a speech at a Debt Managers Conference given on 8 February Murilo Portugal of the IMF said debt managers have very successfully taken advantage of market opportunities to improve the structure of their debt portfolios.
What explains the US net income balance?
Despite a significant deterioration in the US net foreign asset position, there has not been a corresponding deterioration in the net income balance. In fact, there has generally been a net income surplus, according to this IMF Working Paper published…
Atlanta Fed names Lockhart as new president
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announced Thursday 8 February that it has picked Dennis Lockhart, a 17-year veteran of Citigroup and now a professor of international business at Georgetown University as its new president.
Bies to leave Fed at end of March
Susan Bies announced Friday 9 February that she will leave the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve at the end of March.
Philadelphia's Plosser on the economic outlook
In the speech 'The economic outlook: Prospects for 2007' given on 7 February Charles Plosser of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said the central bank may need to raise its benchmark interest rate as recent stronger economic growth increases the…
Chicago Fed Letter, March 2007
The article "Globalization and the benefits of trade" published in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Letter, March 2007, examines the benefits and costs to the U.S. and other countries of globalization.
IMF paper on financial sector supervisors
According to the IMF Working Paper "The fear of freedom: Politicians and the independence and accountability of financial sector supervisors" compared with the case of central bank independence, independence for financial sector supervisors remains more…
SF Fed's Yellen on the Asian financial crisis
In the speech 'The Asian financial crisis ten years later: Assessing the past and looking to the future' given on 6 February Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said China's exchange rate policy should be more flexible in order to…
Fed's Bernanke on economic well-being
In the speech 'The level and distribution of economic well-being' given on 6 February Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said education, not protectionism, is the best weapon in the fight against rising income-inequality.
Fed's Moskow says Chicago lagging US on growth
A top Fed official said Tuesday 6 February in a speech that Chicago lags behind the rest of the US, making it imperative for city officials to pursue more adaptable policies.
IMF's Lipsky on emerging market economies
In the speech 'Developing deeper capital markets in emerging market economies' given on 2 February John Lipsky of the IMF said well-functioning local capital markets make a vital contribution to the efficiency and stability of global financial…
Chicago Fed's Economic Perspectives, First Q 2007
In 'Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble' Cabray Haines and Richard Rosen note that the rapid rise of real estate prices in recent years has led to fears of a housing price bubble. But to determine whether there has been a bubble-and whether the bubble is…
Monetary policy inertia and recent Fed actions
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Economic Letter for 03-2007 describes and assesses two interpretations of recent monetary policy actions by the Federal Reserve.
New York Fed's Foreign Exchange Operations Report
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Treasury and Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Operations quarterly report for October-December 2006, published 1 February, the U.S. monetary authorities did not intervene in the foreign exchange markets…
Report says Fed debating 'soft' inflation target
Federal Reserve officials have discussed whether an implicit, or "soft" inflation target might be preferable, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday 2 February.