United States
Volcker critical of corporate governance failures
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker has said governments are partly responsible for the scandals involving corporations such as Enron and WorldCom and that public scepticism has reached worrying levels, reports the VOA News.
Richmond Fed's Broaddus on the economic outlook
In a speech on 'The Economic Outlook in a Turbulent Period' J. Alfred Broaddus of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond said economic recovery in the US will be strong enough to ride out the Iraq war. The economy should be "solid enough" to withstand…
Minehan on the U.S. Retail Payments System
In a speech on 'Technology and the U.S. Retail Payments System: Challenges and Opportunities' Cathy Minehan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said after September 11, no list of challenges can be complete without mention of the need to continually…
EconSouth from the Atlanta Fed First Quarter 2003
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has published its regular online magazine, EconSouth, for the First Quarter 2003. The latest edition contains a feature "What's Different About This Recovery". The article looks at the concept of a "stealth recovery".
Boston Fed's Minehan urges vigilance on US economy
Cathy Minehan, President of Boston Federal Reserve, said in a speech on Monday 31 March that vigilance will be necessary following a raft of negative economic data, according to a report by Reuters. She also described the risks to the economy from war…
Fed's Bies - Gauging war impact may take some time
Fed board member Susan Bies said on Monday 31 March thatit was difficult to separate out the effect of war on the economy compared to other fundamental economic issues, Reuters reports. It could take a few months for a clear picture to emerge as to what…
Richmond Fed's Broaddus: Economy will weather war
Richmond Fed president Alfred Broaddus has said economic recovery in the US will be strong enough to ride out the Iraq war. The economy should be "solid enough" to withstand current shocks, he said.
Greenspan on community economic development
In a speech on 'Community economic development' Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said in the quest to do good for our society's most vulnerable populations and communities we must embrace the challenge to develop objective and quantifiable standards…
Fed's Olson on the Regulatory Relief Act
In a speech on 'Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2003' Mark Olson of the Federal Reserve endorsed legislation that would make it easier for banks to open branches in other states. The ban on opening new branches gives savings associations an…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, February 2003
CFNAI Shows Economic Growth Slowed in February - In February, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) fell below zero again after briefly turning positive in January. The monthly index came in at -0.62 in February, following January's upward…
Guynn on the U.S. Economy: Where Are We Now?
In a speech on 'The U.S. Economy: Where Are We Now?' Jack Guynn of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said once we move beyond the uncertainty of war, the economy is poised for a pretty solid recovery. This time next year, he said, the recovery will be…
St Louis Fed Central Banker, Spring 2003
The Spring 2003 edition of the St. Louis Fed's Central Banker magazine has been published. The issue carries a report on the regional partnership being set up by the Cleveland and St.Louis Fed banks. There is also a feature on the condition of the…
Bush meets Fed chief to indicate priorities
Fed chairman Alan Greenspan met with George Bush earlier this week to brief the US president on the state of the US economy, according to a report in the Financial Post. The meeting came as Mr Bush prepared to ask Congress for at least US$70-billion to…
Bernanke - Perspective on inflation targeting
In a speech on 'A Perspective on Inflation Targeting' Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said adoption of an explicit inflation goal was in his view the best way for the Fed to achieve its goals of stable prices and maximum sustainable growth. He added,…
Economic Consequences of The Iraq War
In this article David Hale looks at the economic consequences of the war in Iraq. He says that although markets will rally on positive news of the conflict, in the longer term how the US deals with large fiscal deficits and unprecedented current account…
Kohn on inflation targeting in the US
In a speech on 'Comments on Marvin Goodfriend's "Inflation Targeting in the United States?"' Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said the Fed has not engaged in implicit inflation-targeting by saying it supports "long-run price stability". He also said…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Mar 2003
Activity in the region's manufacturing sector weakened in March, according to firms surveyed for March's Business Outlook Survey. This represents a deterioration from the basically flat performance in February. Indexes for general activity and new orders…
Bernanke advocates more Fed transparency
Ben Bernanke said in a speech on Tuesday 25 March that the Federal Reserve could benefit from setting an inflation target. An explicit inflation goal was in his view the best way for the Fed to achieve stable prices.
Fed's Kohn: No need for Fed to target inflation
In apparent contrast to Ben Bernanke's comments Donald Kohn said in a speech released Monday March 24 and reported by Reuters that he was sceptical that for the United States the potential benefits of changing to a regime of inflation targeting would…
Fed's Guynn: Uncertainty a barrier to recovery
Atlanta Fed chief Jack Guynn said on Monday 24 that uncertainty over the war in Iraq, terrorism and oil prices would hinder recovery but that he expects a modest upturn in the economy later this year, according to a Dow Jones report.
Federal Reserve hold rates steady amid uncertainty
Federal Reserve FOMC held rates steady at the meeting on Tuesday March 18. The Committee said in a press release that the hesitancy of economic expansion owes much to geopolitical uncertainties.
Interest rates unchanged as Fed awaits war
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Tuesday March 19 in a unanimous vote but left open the possibility of a cut if the economy suddenly worsened, according to a report by Associated Press.
Fed building part-closed after 'explosives' threat
Tuesday's FOMC meeting, March 19, did not go without a hitch CentralBankNet learns. A report from Reuters said that a man described as a "disgruntled tobacco farmer" claiming to be carrying explosives forced the closure of part of the Federal Reserve…
Plenty monetary policy measures in reserve
Central banks have plenty of monetary policy ammunition left, says Stephen Cecchetti in the Financial Times. Even when rates hit zero central banks can make use of "contingency plans" involving unorthodox monetary operations.