United States
Fed's McTeer sees long spell of low U.S. rates
Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer said Wednesday that there is enough slack in the US economy "for interest rates to be on the historically low side for the foreseeable future". Earlier, McTeer told reporters he saw the U.S. economy moving ahead at a…
Fed's Moskow says factory slump is part structural
Speaking on Tuesday 30 September, Chicago Fed chief Michael Moskow said it was hard to distinguish how much of the downturn in manufacturing was due to the business cycle, and how much to structural changes, according to Reuters. But he said he was…
Atlanta Fed's Guynn-U.S. recovery gaining steam
The recovery is more tangible now and a lot less academic, Atlanta Fed President Jack Guynn has said. He told a Commerce Club lunch on Tuesday 30 September that the pick up in U.S. economic growth is helping to restore optimism about the future strength…
Scant jobs pose U.S. recovery risk- Fed's Broaddus
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Alfred Broaddus said on Tuesday 30 September, Reuters reports, that he saw a risk that already fast growth in productivity could accelerate, making it even harder to bring down the unemployment rate and lessen…
Ed Gramlich: No formal US inflation target needed
Federal Reserve Governor Edward Gramlich said on Wednesday 1 October that the US could benefit from an agreed target range for prices, but an explicit inflation target was not needed as it could further tie down the FOMC. Speaking in Toronto he said some…
Fed Res Bank of San Francisco - Annual Report 2002
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2002. The Annual Report said the District refocused its payments business strategy to streamline operations, gain efficiencies, and control costs by realigning…
Philadelphia Fed Business Review, 3rd Quarter 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has published its regular Business Review for the Third Quarter 2003. In the first article President Santomero examines whether inflation targeting makes sense for the U.S. Other articles examine changes in the…
Fed's Greenspan on Financial Education
In a speech on 'Financial Education' given on 26 September Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said the financial marketplace has grown increasingly complex since the era four decades ago when all Americans needed to know was how to write a check and…
Minehan on the current state of the US economy
In a speech given on 25 September Cathy Minehan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said the robust growth most analysts expect for this quarter and next seems assured, and that should help sustain the economy next year. "There are downside risks to be…
San Francisco Fed on Robert Parry's retirement
San Francisco Fed statement, 25 September, on Robert Parry's decision to retire in June 2004. The Chairman of the Board of Directors said "Bob's leadership of the Bank, his contributions to the communities we serve, and his monetary policy expertise will…
Boston Fed's Minehan: recovery should be sustained
In her first detailed comments on the economy since March, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Cathy Minehan said, according to Reuters, that consumer spending seems to be on pace to grow by 4 percent this quarter, and business spending should…
Economist Franco Modigliani dies aged 85
Franco Modigliani, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1985, has died aged 85, according to the Financial Times. Modigliani made major contributions to macroeconomics - particularly the "life-cycle" savings hypothesis and taught at MIT from 1962…
Greenspan says education needed to combat fraud
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Friday 26 September that the financial marketplace has grown increasingly complex since four decades ago, when all Americans needed to know was how to write a check and open a savings account, according to…
Guynn: The economic outlook appears brighter
In the speech 'The Fog Is Lifting - and the Economic Outlook Appears Brighter' Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said the outlook for the economy is bright and he anticipates more solid and broad-based growth ahead. Boosted by higher…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, August 2003
The latest Chicago Fed National Activity Index for August 2003 was published on 25 September indicates that economic activity slowed in August. The CFNAI was -0.28 in August, a deterioration from the upward revised July reading of +0.05.
Poole on Self-Regulation in Pension Systems
In a speech on 'The Role of Self-Regulation and Voluntary Compliance Incentives in the Design of Pension Systems' William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the United States does not have a perfect pension system. Indeed, the system…
San Francisco Fed's Parry to retire in June
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Robert Parry is to retire in June 2004, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. No successor was named to Parry, who turns 65 in May, but the bank said that it has begun a nationwide search for a…
Fed's Kohn on Productivity and Monetary Policy
In a speech on 'Productivity and Monetary Policy' given on 24 September Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said our challenge as economists and policymakers remains to analyse ongoing developments and to judge the likely course of productivity and…
Kohn says economy not strong enough to boost jobs
Fed Governor Donald Kohn said on Wednesday 24 September "it will be a while before we can be sure that a self-sustaining expansion is underway of sufficient strength and persistence to put the economy back on a path toward full employment", Reuters…
Fed's Poole says US econ prospects superb
St Louis Fed president William Poole said on Wednesday 24 September, according to Reuters, "I am optimistic about the U.S. economy. The recent performance of productivity has been stunning." Asked if he feared an impact on the market for U.S. Treasury…
Fed's McTeer says no need to raise rates soon
Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer told a luncheon meeting on Wednesday 24 September that he was optimistic that growth would soon outstrip the rapid pace of productivity gains and lead to new hiring, according to Reuters. But he acknowledged that the…
St Louis Fed's Central Banker, Fall 2003
The Fall 2003 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. The latest issue carries a report on what community bankers said at a recent meeting with the St. Louis Fed and other regulatory agencies on reducing regulatory…
Weak job market poses economic risk-Fed's Broaddus
Speaking to a meeting of the Southern Governors' Association in West Virginia on Tuesday 23 September, reported by Reuters, Richmond Fed president Alfred Broaddus said he believed that consensus forecasts for economic growth at about a 4.5 percent annual…
New World Bank Chief Economist
Francois Bourguignon has been appointed chief economist at the World Bank, President James D. Wolfensohn announced on Friday 19 September. He succeeds Nicholas Stern, who will leave the Bank Group in October