United States
Hoenig warns on rate overshoot - report
The Federal Reserve must guard against raising interest rates too high, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Tom Hoenig said Friday 19 May in an interview with the Wall Street Journal's Greg Ip.
Bernanke regrets 'lapse of judgment'
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday 23 May during a Senate Banking Committee hearing that he suffered a "lapse of judgment" when he spoke to a CNBC reporter recently.
Comment: US 'break-even' inflation
News of a sudden increase in inflation fears has made headlines in recent weeks. In the case of the US, some have linked this to idea that new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, is perceived as being too soft on inflation. What do the most recent estimates of…
Fed's Lacker on the evolution of consumer finance
In the speech 'The evolution of consumer finance' given on 18 May Jeffrey Lacker of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said a wave of innovation in consumer credit markets has driven a surge in credit availability for the average consumer, but that…
St Louis Fed's Poole on inversion
In the speech 'Inversion' given on 18 May William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said he's "been a bit puzzled" by talk beginning last fall that an inverted yield curve would likely herald a recession.
Greenspan says housing bubble over
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday 18 May, in his first public U.S. speech since retiring in January, that US consumption could fall now that the US housing market's "extraordinary boom" has ended.
Rato says more Fed hikes may be needed
International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato said on Monday 22 May that the Federal Reserve may need to continue raising interest rates depending upon how US economic conditions evolve.
Treasuries' safe-haven status faces growing threat
According to this article published Wednesday 17 May, long-term threats to the status of Treasury bonds as a safe haven are gathering even as global investors pour money into U.S. government debt.
The new Fed chairman faces the same old dilemma
Ben Bernanke is facing the age-old test all central bankers eventually have to confront: what to do in the face of slowing growth and rising inflation, according to this article published Thursday 18 May.
Comment: Safe hands for Fed No. 2 spot
US president George W. Bush opted for a safe pair of hands in the form of Donald Kohn to replace Roger Ferguson as No. 2 at the Fed. Kohn, a 36-year Fed veteran, will be both a countervailing and supplementary force to the more studious Ben Bernanke.
Kohn going to be next Fed vice-chairman
US president George W. Bush on Thursday 18 May announced plans to nominate Fed governor Donald Kohn to be vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Fed's Kohn on the evolving financial system
In the speech 'The evolving nature of the financial system: Financial crises and the role of the central bank' given on 18 May Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said U.S. bank regulators are focused on encouraging market discipline, sound risk…
Fed's Bernanke on Basel II
In the speech 'Basel II: Its promise and its challenges' given on 18 May Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said federal banking regulators will press ahead on a sweeping plan aimed at improving risk management for the country's largest and most…
NY Fed's Kos on the foreign exchange market
In the speech 'Recent volatility trends in the foreign exchange market' given on 11 May Dino Kos of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said there is a risk that the current period of low volatility in the foreign exchange market will not last, and…
Fed's Bernanke on hedge funds and systemic risk
In the speech 'Hedge funds and systemic risk' given on 16 May Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said financial authorities must stay attuned to any potential risks posed by the growth of hedge funds, an investment domain of the wealthy that has become…
NY Fed's Geithner on financial stability
In the speech 'Implications of growth in credit derivatives for financial stability' given on 16 May Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said banks and other financial players must be cautious in their use of credit derivatives.
Shrinking central bank asset buys worry for dollar
Foreign central banks' net purchases of U.S. assets have slumped to a mere $1.6 billion, the lowest in a year, according to this article published Monday 15 May.
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published its Second Quarter 2006 Survey of Professional Forecasters on 15 May. Stronger growth in real GDP this year will come at the expense of weaker growth next year, according to 53 forecasters surveyed.
Fed's Bies on implementing Basel II
In the speech 'Implementing Basel II: Choices and challenges' given on 16 May Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the Federal Reserve will conduct "ongoing, detailed" analyses to ensure new bank capital rules, when implemented, do not lead to…
Fed's Kohn on investing in payment innovations
In the speech 'Investing in payment innovations: A Federal Reserve perspective' given on 11 May Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said changing electronic payment systems benefit both institutions and consumers, but also expose them to new risks,…
Richmond Fed welcomes chief HR officer
Tammy H. Cummings will join the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond as vice president of human resources for the Fifth District, effective 15 May.
The little-noticed 'yet' in the Fed's statement
According to this article by John Berry, published Thursday 11 May, it was in the FOMC's statement explaining what may come next that "yet" appeared, signalling that after boosting the target at 16 consecutive meetings the committee probably will take a…
The origins of bubbles in laboratory asset markets
The authors of this Atlanta Fed Working Paper, published May 2006, conduct experiments that are designed to investigate individual probability judgment error and speculative behaviour. They find that both factors contribute to the creation of asset price…
Fed raises rates to 5%
The Federal Open Market Committee decided Wednesday 10 May to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5 percent. In its statement the FOMC said "some further policy firming may yet be needed."