Federal Reserve System
Biern on The Bank Secrecy Act & USA Patriot Act
In testimony 'The Bank Secrecy Act and the USA Patriot Act' given on 17 November Herbert Biern of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation said regulators believe that banking organizations have to take reasonable and prudent steps to combat…
Richmond Fed's Economic Quarterly, Fall 2004
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has published its Economic Quarterly for Fall 2004. The paper "Ricardo versus Wicksell on job losses and technological change" looks at Knut Wicksell's revisions of Ricardo's classical model with modern concepts and…
Chicago Fed National Activity Index, Oct 2004
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) for October 2004 was published on 23 November. The CFNAI was +0.52 in October, up sharply from -0.04 in September. For the first time since March, all four of the broad categories of indicators that…
Fed's Bies on fair value accounting
In a speech on 'Fair value accounting' given on 18 November, Susan Bies of the Federal Reserve said the Financial Accounting Standards Board's fair value measurement standard is a good first step toward developing enhanced guidance for the estimation of…
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Nov 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, November 2004, activity in the region's manufacturing sector continues to expand. Manufacturing executives are more optimistic than they were last month about future…
Fed's Greenspan on the euro in wider circles
In a speech on 'Euro in wider circles' given on 19 November to the European Banking Congress, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said the persistence of huge U.S. trade deficits can pose a risk to the U.S. economy, which thus far has proven resilient.
Fed's Olson on state of the US economy
Federal Reserve Governor Mark Olson spoke on Monday 15 November about the state of the US economy, and issued a warning to expect more rate rises as the economy recovers.
Fed's Bies on financial supervision issues
In a speech on 'Financial supervision issues' given on 5 November, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the US government budget has become a "cookie jar" for lawmakers over the past four years, with taxpayer funds spent in some cases for …
Fed Reserve Bank of St Louis Review, Nov/Dec 2004
The latest edition of the St Louis Fed's Review for November-December 2004 includes the article "Monetary policy and asset prices: A look back at past U.S. stock market booms" which examines the economic environments in which past U.S. stock market booms…
Fed's Ferguson on business investment
In a speech on 'Factors influencing business investment' given on 26 October, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said US businesses are discarding their earlier caution and investing more in capital goods and structures.
The pursuit of financial stability – an outside view
A two-part survey of central banks’ work in financial stability – the first article offers a critical assessment, the second an overview of current policy-oriented research. By Robert Pringle.
News Analysis: Key insight embodied in new technology
Following the news that this year’s winners of the Nobel prize for economics are Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott, Paul Brione spoke with Edward Prescott, who currently works at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Here is his report on their…
Fed's Ferguson on equilibrium real interest rate
In a speech on 'Equilibrium real interest rate: Theory and application' given on 29 October, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said that policymakers cannot rely on a formula to decide the proper level for U.S. interest rates, but must always judge…
Fed's Bernanke on oil and the economy
In a speech on 'Oil and the economy' given on 21 October, Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve said soaring oil prices now represent a "significant shock" to the US economy but the longer-term impact should be manageable.
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey, Oct 2004
According to the firms surveyed for the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey, October 2004, activity in the region's manufacturing sector continued to improve. In this months survey the participants were asked about their plans and expectations for…
Fed's Bies on the Federal Reserve and the economy
In a speech on 'The Federal Reserve System and the economy' given on 23 October, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said the Fed will keep an eye on how much surging oil costs affect consumer prices but said she expects underlying inflation to…
Fed's Bies on financial institution supervision
In a speech on 'Enterprise perspectives in financial institution supervision' given on 21 October, Susan Schmidt Bies of the Federal Reserve said mortgage market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taking on interest-rate risk as a way to grow…
Greenspan on US mortgage market and consumer debt
In a speech on 'The mortgage market and consumer debt' given on 19 October, Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve said conceded there were concerns about "the exceptional run-up in home prices" but said Americans were handling their debts well.
Fed's Ferguson on good policy practice
In a speech on 'Safeguarding good policy practice through maintaining flexibility' given on 8 October, Roger Ferguson of the Federal Reserve said he is opposed to the idea of adopting an explicit inflation target as it could limit the ability of the Fed…
Fed's Kohn on low-probability, high-impact events
In a speech 'How should policymakers deal with low-probability, high-impact events?' given at the ECB's Conference on Monetary Policy and Imperfect Knowledge on 15 October, Donald Kohn of the Federal Reserve said central banks with credibility for…
Greenspan not worried over oil price
In a speech titled 'Oil' given on 15 October Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said the current surge in energy prices is likely to have far less of an impact on the economy than the oil shocks of the 1970s.
Fed's Bernanke says floating exchange rates best
In a speech to the Cato Institute 22nd Annual Monetary Conference on Thursday 14 October Ben Bernanke said that the best course is generally to let exchange rates float freely and to make low and stable inflation a principal focus of monetary policy,…
St Louis Fed's Regional Economist, October 2004
The Quarterly Review of Business and Economic Conditions, The Regional Economist, October 2004 edition from the St Louis Fed includes the article "U.S. Stays Out of the Way of Entrepreneurs" which says for those starting a business in this country,…