United States
Philadelphia Fed survey rises sharply in July
The Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey improved modestly in July, BizWorld reported. Company executives polled for the survey remain "generally optimistic" that business conditions will improve over the next six months, the survey showed.
US signals formal end to recession
The business-cycle dating committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research on Thursday declared that the US recession ended in November 2001. The committee said GDP suggested the economy began recovering in late 2001 and has since risen above its…
Poole on housing in the macroeconomy
In the speech 'Housing in the Macroeconomy' William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said the US has enjoyed many years of a rising stock of residential capital. Moreover, dwellings have increased in average size and quality. The nation's…
Monetary Policy Report to the Congress
In the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report to the Congress published 15 July Fed policy makers expected economic growth, which is estimated to have run at a little more than a 1.6 percent annual rate in the first half of this year, to rise to about…
Bob McTeer on The prodigal son as central banker
In the speech 'The Prodigal Son as Central Banker' Bob McTeer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said for years Al has had the reputation for being an inflation hawk. Lately, he's becoming a hawk on deflation as well. He doesn't like inflation. He…
Hoenig on community banks and the Fed
In the speech 'Community Banks and the Federal Reserve' Thomas Hoenig of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said community banks play an important role in the financial system of the U.S. economy and in the Federal Reserve's mission. For these…
Philadelphia Fed's Santomero on economic education
In a speech entitled 'Knowledge Is Power: The Importance of Economic Education' Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said economic education programs developed and promoted by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank help consumers…
Cleveland Fed's Monetary Theory Workshop
Details of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Central Bank Institute's Monetary Theory Workshop 14-18 July. Discussions include "The Friedman Rule and the Nature of Monetary Transactions in Alternative Models" and "Mechanism Design and the Role of…
Greenspans testimony to Congress
In testimony on 15 July Alan Greenspan presented the Federal Reserve Board's semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. Greenspan said the Fed was prepared to leave interest rates at low levels "for as long as it takes". He said the Fed remained…
Broaddus on the Economy and Monetary Policy
In the speech 'Remarks on the Economy and Monetary Policy' J. Alfred Broaddus of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said he was confident that the Fed could put effective strategies in place if necessary to prevent significant disinflation or deflation…
Euro at two-month low ahead of Greenspan's comment
The euro dipped to new two-month low points against the dollar on Monday 14 July in nervous trading before US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's imminent statements to Congress on monetary policy, according to a report by Sapa-AFP.
Greenspan testimony on Natural gas supply
In the speech 'Natural gas supply' Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said growing U.S. demand for natural gas to fuel factories and electricity plants may outweigh environmentalists' desire to preserve wilderness areas that contain energy reserves.
Greenspan enters his surrealist period
Salvador Dali has apparently taken over as chairman of the Federal Reserve. An article in the Financial Times suggests the Fed's recent behaviour indicates a sudden conversion to surrealism in the conduct of monetary policy.
Greenspan to deliver monetary testimony 15 July
The US House Financial Services Committee has announced Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will testify before the committee on 15 July.
IMF's Krueger on supply, demand & deadlines
In the speech 'Supply, Demand & Deadlines: A Workshop on Economics for Journalists' Anne Krueger of the IMF said economics is important-and so is reporting economics well. The IMF's role-acting alongside the World Bank, the UN, and national governments…
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Jul/Aug 2003
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for July-August 2003 includes proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Economic Policy Conference of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis. The Review includes articles titled "The Real Effects of U.S…
Alan Greenspan opens Philadelphia Fed mini-museum
Alan Greenspan opened the Philadelphia Fed's new "Money in Motion" mini-museum on Wednesday 2 July, Dow Jones reports. The displays aim to make the complex history of American monetary policy visitor-friendly for tourists and local visitors.
IMF statement on new chief economist Rajan
IMF Managing Director Kohler Proposed Raghuram Rajan as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department, 2 July.
Fedspeak with the Fed rate cut
An article in the Washington Times suggests that to understand what the Federal Reserve does, it's best to start with reasonably low expectations about what any central bank can do. It also suggests that the Fed's "balance of risk" assessment of the…
6 May Minutes of Federal Open Market Committee
The Federal Reserve on 26 June released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 6 May. The minutes showed all the members indicated that they could support a proposal to maintain an unchanged policy stance. But they acknowledged that a case could be made for…
''The Fed has not avoided danger''
An article in the Financial Times argues that the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates last week was a missed opportunity. Quantitative easing through an expansion of the money supply is needed, it argues, or the economic recovery could be…
Olson on bank challenges with low interest rates
In a speech on 'Bank Management Challenges in a Low-interest-rate Environment' Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve said the most pronounced effect of the current climate has not been prominent in the headlines but is well known to the industry. We have…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, May 2003
CFNAI Indicates Economic Activity Improved in May - The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI ) was -0.39 in May, a marked improvement from the downward-revised April level of -1.04. Most of the increase reflected better readings on the output…
Fed should focus on systemic risk from banks-Stern
Minneapolis Fed President Gary Stern said in an article on regulatory reform this week that "Risk is not evenly distributed across banks", according to a report from Reuters, and that the largest banks, or those focused on payments system processing,…