It isn’t surprising that the dollar is always in the news, given the prominence of the United States in the global economy and how often the dollar is used in transactions around the world (as discussed in a 2010 Current Issues article).
October 3, 2011
September 30, 2011
Historical Echoes: Travel Back in Banking Time with American Banker
To celebrate its 175th anniversary, American Banker is featuring selected articles that describe important and interesting events in banking history.
Posted at 10:00 am in Historical Echoes | Permalink
September 28, 2011
The Productivity Slowdown Reaffirmed
Economists generally agree that productivity is the primary ingredient for sustainable growth in GDP and wages.
Posted at 7:00 am in Macroeconomics | Permalink
September 26, 2011
An Examination of U.S. Dollar Declines
Although the dollar strengthened somewhat recently, its level relative to the currencies of the United States’ main trading partners is nonetheless 11 percent lower than it was at the start of 2009.
September 12, 2011
Can Speculative Trading Magnify Financial Market Co‑movement?
Global financial markets tend to move together. For example, stock market movements across the globe are highly synchronized, economic data releases frequently have large spillover effects across borders, and episodes of financial turmoil often spread across countries that share no significant economic linkages.
September 9, 2011
Historical Echoes: Meet William McChesney Martin Jr.
William McChesney Martin Jr. (1906-98) was chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1951 to 1970, serving under five U.S. presidents.
Posted at 10:00 am in Historical Echoes | Permalink
September 7, 2011
Consumer Goods from China Are Getting More Expensive
We find that, in a sharp reversal of earlier trends, U.S. import prices for consumer goods shipped from China have been rising rapidly in recent quarters—by 7 percent between 2010:Q2 and 2011:Q1.
September 6, 2011
Helping Unemployed Borrowers Meet Their Mortgage Payments
With unemployment very high, income loss is now the primary reason for mortgage default. Unemployed homeowners face tough choices.
September 2, 2011
Historical Echoes: Forced Savings and Prison Cells for Rent
In the nineteenth century, convicts transported to New South Wales, Australia, were encouraged to deposit their money in one of the colony’s banks. But in 1822, they were forced to do so. Prisoners in private jails were also compelled to pay for their incarceration and were housed according to their ability to pay, with accommodations ranging from a private cell with a cleaning woman to one where the convict had to lie on the floor with no cover.
Posted at 10:00 am in Historical Echoes | Permalink
August 31, 2011
Is There Stigma to Discount Window Borrowing?
The Federal Reserve employs the discount window (DW) to provide funding to fundamentally solvent but illiquid banks (see the March 30 post “Why Do Central Banks Have Discount Windows?”). Historically, however, there has been a low level of DW use by banks, even when they are faced with severe liquidity shortages, raising the possibility of a stigma attached to DW borrowing. If DW stigma exists, it is likely to inhibit the Fed’s ability to act as lender of last resort and prod banks to turn to more expensive sources of financing when they can least afford it. In this post, we provide evidence that during the recent financial crisis banks were willing to pay higher interest rates in order to avoid going to the DW, a pattern of behavior consistent with stigma.
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