United States
Phil Fed's Survey of Professional Forecasters
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its Third Quarter 2004 Survey of Professional Forecasters. Growth over the second half of the year looks a bit slower now than it did three months ago, according to participants in the Survey. The…
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Fall 2004
The Fall 2004 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. The latest issue includes articles "Federal Reserve To Close More Check Processing Sites" and "Federal Reserve Takes a Lead Role in Supporting Check 21" which…
Greenspan says US economy regaining some traction
In testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday 8 September, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the economy has "regained some traction" following a late spring slowdown that was instigated by a sharp rise in oil prices.
Regulatory agencies warn on internet 'phishing'
The Federal bank, thrift and credit union agencies on Wednesday 8 September announced the publication of a brochure with information to help consumers identify and combat a new type of Internet scam known as "phishing."
Dallas Fed's McTeer confident on US economy
The dip in the U.S. economy in the second quarter was due largely to higher oil prices and the country has now moved on, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert McTeer said on Tuesday 7 September.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, July 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity index rose to +0.35 in July from a downward-revised reading of -0.19 the previous month. Most of the increase in July's CFNAI resulted from a big swing in the contribution from production-related indicators, from -0.25…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Sep/Oct 2004
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for September-October 2004 includes the articles "Trends in the efficiency of Federal Reserve check processing operations" and "Testing the expectations hypothesis: Some new evidence for Japan" and …
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Aug 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, August 2004, activity in the manufacturing sector continues to expand, but the pace of growth is slower than last month. However, participants' optimism for general…
Guynn on responding to global competitive pressure
In the speech 'Responding to global competitive pressure' given on 25 August Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said a recent dip in U.S. growth will likely prove temporary and should not alter a Federal Reserve plan to gradually raise…
Fed's Greenspan on global demographic change
In a speech on 'Global demographic change' given on 27 August, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve warned that an ageing U.S. population will strain public finances and hurt the economy without swift fixes to the safety net, such as raising the age for…
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's 29-30 June FOMC meeting released on 12 August showed that Fed officials had no sense that the U.S. economy had hit a "soft patch" when they met in late June and decided to raise key short-term interest rates for the…
Fed's Gramlich on social security reforms
In a speech on 'Rules for assessing social security reform' given on 12 August, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said any plans to reform the Social Security retirement program should be self-financed and not rely on general government revenues.
Fed sees stronger pick up in growth
The Federal Open Market Committee decided on Tuesday 10 August to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1-1/2 percent. In its press release the FOMC maintained its stance that policy accommodation could be removed at a…
Fed expected to lift US interest rates
The Federal Reserve was expected to raise interest rates on Tuesday 10 August for the second time this year, despite weak US employment growth statistics.
Study says Fed doesn't target stock market
The Federal Reserve doesn't target stock market prices directly when it sets monetary policy, Reuters said quoting a Fed study due out this week.
Federal Reserve announce changes to check services
The Federal Reserve Banks announced on 2 August further changes to increase the efficiency of their check-processing operations. Check processing operations at nine sites will be discontinued and the volumes at these sites shifted to other Federal…
Hoenig on US monetary policy, economic outlook
In a speech on 'Monetary policy and the economic outlook' given on 26 July, Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said recent U.S. economic performance has been good. Growth has been strong, inflation has been low, and even the labour…
Dallas Fed's McTeer on transparency
In a speech given on 13 July Bob McTeer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said that Europe seems to be doing better economically, but what it greatly needs are economic reforms - especially labour market reforms-to give them good job growth.
Snow reassures after IMF, World Bank terror threat
US Treasury Secretary John Snow sought to calm nerves on Monday 2 August following newly disclosed terror threats against the U.S. financial institutions including the IMF and World Bank in Washington.
Federal Reserve Board - Beige Book, July 2004
The Federal Reserve released its July 2004 Beige Book survey on 28 July. The report said the US economic expansion is showing some signs of moderating as consumer spending brakes.
Chicago Fed's Moskow on the US economic outlook
In a speech on 'U.S. Economic Outlook' given on 23 July, Michael Moskow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said the recent increase in U.S. inflation probably isn't enough to force the Federal Reserve to abandon its "measured" approach to interest…
What's with Greenspan's hawkish talk?
This article says Alan Greenspan's recent more hawkish comments in testimony to Congress on July 20-21 have a lot to do with whom Greenspan was speaking for and to whom he was speaking. Mainly, his stern words about guarding against inflation reflect his…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, June 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was 0.00 in June, a marked decrease from the May reading of +0.75. The production- and employment-related categories of indicators made negative contributions to the overall index in June, but these were offset by…
US growth to top 4% this year-Kansas Fed's Hoenig
The U.S. economy will most likely grow by more than 4 percent in 2004, stimulated by fiscal and monetary policy and the recovering global climate, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig said on Monday 26 July.