United States
Chicago Fed Letter, December 2002 Special Issue
REPORT - The latest Chicago Fed Letter is titled 'Financial market and regulatory behaviour over the business cycle'. It asks the questions, should regulation and supervision be used to smooth out the business cycle? and how do financial firms respond to…
Greenspan speaks at book launch
SPEECH - Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke at the launch of a new book by Allan Meltzer. He described the book, History of the Federal Reserve Volume I as an indispensable input for monetary economists and economic historians alike. Drafts of the book…
Who Will Be the Next Fed Chairman?
US - Speculation grows as to Alan Greenspans possible successor. A recently compiled list of candidates suggests a Harvard University professor, Martin Feldstein, is a strong contender.
Greenspan on the economic outlook
SPEECH - In testimony titled 'The economic outlook' made on 13 November, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said before Congress's Joint Economic Committee, that last week's sharp interest rate cut should help the country through its "soft patch,"…
San Francisco Fed chief expects recovery next year
US - Following the Federal Reserve's half point interest rate cut last week Robert Parry said in a speech on Wednesday that the Fed thought it was wise to "take out a little insurance" to keep the expansion going.
Greenspan on The Wealth of Nations Revisited
SPEECH - In the speech 'The Wealth of Nations Revisited' made on 12 November, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said Adam Smith's idea of the 'invisible hand' whereby economic decisions that benefit an individual benefit society as a whole indirectly…
Greenspan's fight
ARTICLE - Last week, the Federal Reserve decided to blow, once again, into the flapping sails of the US economy. The puncturing of the bubble economy continues to create fierce headwinds. Further interest rate cuts - perhaps more unorthodox measures -…
European Central Bank Working Paper No 192
RESEARCH - ECB Working Paper, "Is the European Central Bank (and the United States Federal Reserve) predictable?", by Gabriel Perez-Quiros and Jorge Sicilia, November 2002. This paper examines the predictability of the monetary policy decisions of the…
Webster quits as accounts watchdog
US - William Webster on Tuesday quit as head of the US's new accountancy regulator, a casualty of a debacle that has already forced out Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bienvenidos Sr Greenspan
ARTICLE - Ever so briefly yesterday, the capital of the world financial system moved to Mexico City. Alan Greenspan, Andrew Crockett, Wim Duisenberg and a bevy of other central bankers were all in town for a seminar on macroeconomic stability organised…
China beats USA as Korea's largest export market
SOUTH KOREA - China has surpassed the United States in terms of its share of South Korea's export market in the first nine months of this year, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.
Greenspan: Economy has hit 'soft patch'
US - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday the U.S. economy was weighed down by worry over possible war and falling stock prices but not by dangerous imbalances that tended to herald recession.
Gramlich on smart growth, at the Cleveland Fed
SPEECH - In a speech to the Cleveland Fed Conference made on 7 November, Edward Gramlich of the Federal Reserve said the fundamental principle of smart growth is that development should be of a holistic nature. That is, rather than just paying attention…
Bies on effective accounting and disclosure
SPEECH - In the speech 'Effective Accounting and Disclosure for Financial Transactions and Financial Institutions' made on 7 November, Susan Bies of the Federal Reserve said a restoration of public confidence in the U.S. capital markets has begun, but…
Ferguson on recent experience and economic outlook
SPEECH - In the speech 'Recent Experience and Economic Outlook' made on 12 November, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said the most recent recession was relatively mild and the current recovery has proved to be fairly weak compared with previous…
FRBSF Economic Letter - Stock Market Volatility
RESEARCH - In this Economic Letter from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco the author surveys the academic literature on the properties and causes of stock market volatility, focusing on the debate on whether the stock market varies excessively,…
A new policy divide across the Atlantic
ARTICLE - Their analysis was so similar: the US Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that "inflation and inflationary expectations remain well contained"; Wim Duisenberg, the European Central Bank's president, concurred yesterday when he talked about "reduced…
The SEC's new start
ARTICLE - To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Harvey Pitt did the honourable thing this week. But only after he had exhausted every possible alternative.
Bernanke - Milton Friedman's Ninetieth Birthday
SPEECH - In the speech 'On Milton Friedman's Ninetieth Birthday' made on 8 November, Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said to the assembled guests including Milton Friedman that the Federal Reserve takes responsibility for the Great Depression, "You…
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
MINUTES - The Federal Reserve on 7 November released the minutes of its FOMC meeting of 24 September. Gramlich and McTeer dissented from the vote to hold rates constant, preferring to ease monetary policy at this meeting. The Committee believed that the…
Departing SEC chairman wins a standing ovation
US - Harvey Pitt delivered his valedictory speech to the securities industry Friday, with a defence of his record as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a sideswipe at the partisanship that, he implied, had made the job impossible.
Poole on the Fed's Role in Community Development
SPEECH - In the speech 'The Fed's Role in Community Development' made on 23 October, William Poole of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said in March 2003, the Federal Reserve System's Community Affairs offices will sponsor its third academic…
Bies-Fed monitoring commercial real estate, credit
US - The U.S. Federal Reserve is monitoring rapidly growing vacancy rates in commercial real estate and a surge in consumer credit, Fed Gov. Susan Bies said on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Board Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1 1/4 percent. In a related action, the Board of Governors approved a 50 basis point reduction in the discount rate to 3…