United States
Fed seeks to reassure over housing slowdown
Overall rises in disposable income should offset a possible increase in the saving rate due to a softening housing market, Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said in a letter to a congresswoman released on Wednesday 30 August.
Fed minutes indicate a "close call"
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee showed a 9-1 vote on 8 August in favour of keeping interest rates on hold.
Jackson Hole attendees stick to the script
Central bankers and academics at the Fed's annual Jackson Hole conference in the United States discussed the impacts of globalisation at length, but gave away little on immediate policy directions.
Chicago Fed on home ownership
The Chicago Fed has published and article explaining recent high levels of residential investment and rates of home ownership.
How to face natural disasters
A report on the effects of Hurricane Katrina considers the lessons learned from managing a catastrophic event, including dealing with a sudden fall in the availability of cash and when electronic systems fail.
Chicago Fed reviews explicit inflation targeting
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president and CEO, Michael Moskow, considers whether the Fed should now adopt explicit numerical guidelines or targets for inflation.
IMF report on US inflation dynamics
The latest issue of the IMF survey has a short article on what drives inflation dynamics in the US.
Lucas critique & the stability of empirical models
This Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Working Paper, published 14 August, re-considers the empirical relevance of the Lucas critique using a DSGE sticky price model in which a weak central bank response to inflation generates equilibrium indeterminacy.
San Francisco Fed's Economic Letter
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Economic Letter "Would an inflation target help anchor U.S. inflation expectations?" published Friday 11 August says countries with explicit inflation targets have done a better job at anchoring inflation…
Fed chief wants to improve communication
According to this article from the Associated press, published Sunday 13 August, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke wants to improve the central bank's communication, but it's not clear how he wants to do it.
Report says US considering inflation gauge change
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics is contemplating a change in the consumer price index that may have an impact on how markets and policymakers interpret inflation data, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday 14 August, citing a government official.
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published its Third Quarter 2006 Survey of Professional Forecasters on 14 August. Growth in U.S. real output over the near term looks a bit slower and inflation a bit higher than they did just three months ago,…
Federal Reserve - Annual Report 2005
According to the Federal Reserve's Annual Report 2005, the U.S. economy delivered a solid performance in 2005 despite a further sharp increase in energy prices and devastating hurricanes.
Fed probably will skip rate increase next month
According to this article published Wednesday 9 August, by John Berry of Bloomberg, the best guess is probably that there won't be a rate increase in the US next month.
Communications breakthrough reaps reward for Fed
According to this article from the Financial Times, published Wednesday 9 August, Ben Bernanke will probably be pleased with the muted market reaction that followed the FOMC's latest interest rate decision.
Richmond's Lacker first to dissent under Bernanke
This article published Tuesday 8 August by Bloomberg notes that Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Jeffrey Lacker disagreed with the Fed's decision to forgo an interest-rate increase.
Paulson to meet with Chinese officials
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expects to meet Chinese economic officials sometime this fall, a Treasury spokesman said on Monday 7 August.
Kansas Fed's Hoenig on the economic outlook
In the speech 'The economic outlook and monetary policy: Challenges in the period ahead' given on 19 July Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said monetary policy is "somewhat restrictive".
NY Fed's Rutledge on on compliance
In the speech 'Supervisory perspectives on compliance for international banks operating in the United States' given on 25 July William Rutledge of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York examines the challenges that globalization, financial innovation and…
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 April-June 2006, published 3 August, the U.S. monetary authorities did not intervene in the foreign exchange markets during…
Mishkin sees benefits in inflation target range
According to this article by Reuters, published Wednesday 2 August, a new study by incoming Federal Reserve governor Frederic Mishkin says inflation target ranges can help central banks sidestep political pressure to let prices rise and achieve low…
IMF to give emerging economies votes
Managing director Rodrigo Rato said the International Monetary Fund is ready to give emerging economies greater representation in the organisation with changes to members' voting powers in September.
Revised Bank Secrecy Act Manual
A revised "Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Examination Manual" has been issued. The manual, effective 1 August, provides current and consistent risk-based guidance for banking organizations to comply with the BSA and safeguard operations…
Paulson says appreciation would benefit China
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson joined Chinese officials on Tuesday 1 August in asking for faster gains to cool economic growth.