President Pianalto discusses Globalization and Monetary Policy
In a speech at a Global Interdependence Center (GIC) conference in Paris, France, Sandra Pianalto, president and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, explains how global price pressures can increase the complexity of formulating monetary policy.
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FOMC Statement
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 2 percent.
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Federal Reserve Conference Focuses on Economic Development
Why are some cities thriving while others are not? More than 140 civic and business leaders, researchers, educators, and economic development professionals grappled with that question at The Economics of Geography: Cities, Growth, and Economic Development, a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on April 3-4, 2008.
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Federal Reserve Banks Announce Restructuring Schedule Changes as Electronic Check Processing Continues to Accelerate
The Federal Reserve Banks announced modifications to the schedule for previously announced check processing infrastructure changes as consumers and businesses continue the shift from using paper checks toward electronic payments and as financial institutions rapidly adopt electronic check processing.
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Federal Reserve Board Statement
The Federal Reserve announced two initiatives designed to bolster market liquidity and promote orderly market functioning.
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The International Monetary Fund lowered its projections for world economic growth. No surprise there! But the report also suggested that the traditional correlation between growth in advanced-developed countries and growth in developing countries was weakening. Global trade gains and macroeconomic policy improvements have reduced—but not eliminated—the developing countries’ dependency on the developed world. Now that’s interesting!
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Explaining Apparent Changes in the Phillips Curve: The Great Moderation and Monetary Policy
Charles T Carlstrom and Timothy S Fuerst
Observations that the Phillips curve may be deviating from historical norms are important to policymakers because deviations would imply that more or less output has to be sacrificed to achieve a permanent reduction in long-term inflation. But we argue that recent economic shocks and a shift in the Fed’s response to inflation may be leading economists to misestimate the curve.
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Explaining Apparent Changes in the Phillips Curve: Trend Inflation Isn't Constant
Charles T Carlstrom and Timothy S Fuerst
Monetary policymakers look to the Phillips curve—an expression of the relationship between inflation and the degree to which the economy is operating relative to its potential—for information about the cost of actions undertaken to lower inflation. Recent estimations of the curve suggest it is deviating from historical norms. We argue that changes in trend inflation and Fed operating procedures are not being taken into account in these estimations and that when they are, changes in the curve are minor and need not concern policymakers.
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Cleveland Fed Hosts Research Seminar on Financial Education
Financial literacy levels are alarmingly low across many segments of the U.S. population, with knowledge deficits evident in groups ranging from individuals with little formal education to high school seniors and teachers. That was the assessment of some of the nation’s leading scholars on financial literacy who gathered April 25 at the 2008 Research Seminar on Financial Education, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland at its Cincinnati branch. In all, the event provided an eye-opening perspective on American’s financial savvy and on the effectiveness of financial education programs in general.
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