Federal Reserve assets: understanding the pieces of the pie

One way to examine the composition of assets on the Fed's balance sheet is to group them according to the objectives of the programs used to acquire them.Government securities ; Fiscal policy

This is not your father's recession ... or is it?

The current declines in employment and income are consistent with what happened in previous recessions going back to 1969. Unique this time are the major drop in home prices and the proactive response by policymakers.Recessions

Vacancies and unemployment

Expansions are usually associated with plentiful vacancies and a low number of unemployed workers. During recessions the unemployment pool swells while employers seek to fill fewer job openings.Unemployment ; Recessions ; Labor market

New monetary policy tools?

Monetary policy

Fueling expected inflation

Gasoline - Prices ; Inflation (Finance)

Estimating U.S. output growth with vintage data in a state-space framework

This study uses a state-space model to estimate the "true" unobserved measure of total output in the U.S. economy. The analysis uses the entire history (i.e., all vintages) of selected real-time data series to compute revisions and corresponding statistics for those series. The revision statistics, along with the most recent data vintage, are used in a state-space model to extract filtered estimates of the "true" series. Under certain assumptions, Monte Carlo simulations suggest this framework can improve published estimates by as much as 30 percent, lasting an average of 11 periods. Real-time experiments using a measure of real gross domestic product show improvement closer to 10 percent, lasting for 1 to 2 quarters.Economic development ; Economic conditions - United States

The perils of globalization: offshoring and economic insecurity of the American worker

According to polls from the 2006 congressional elections, globalization and economic insecurity were the primary concerns of many voters. These Americans apparently believe that they have fallen victim to liberal trade polices and that inexorable trends in globalization are destroying the American Dream. In this analysis, we use time series cross-section data from the General Social Survey (GSS) to examine the links among offshoring, labor market volatility, and the demand for social insurance. Unique among the GSS literature, our analysis includes a pseudo-panel model which permits including auxiliary state and regional macroeconomic information.Globalization ; International economic integration

A closer look: assistance programs in the wake of the crisis

An unprecedented amount of aid was extended by the Treasury, Fed and FDIC to companies, agencies and individuals. This aid was necessary and, in many cases, will return a profit to taxpayers.Financial crises ; Intermediation (Finance) ; Business failures

The commercial paper market, the Fed, and the 2007-2009 financial crisis

Since its inception in the early nineteenth century, the U.S. commercial paper market has grown to become a key source of short-term funding for major businesses, with issuance averaging over $100 billion per day. In the fall of 2008, the commercial paper market achieved national prominence when increasing market stress caused some to fear that, given its size and importance, the market's failure would sharply worsen the recession. The Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve enacted programs targeted at providing credit and liquidity to restore investor confidence. The authors review the history of the commercial paper market, describe its structure and key relationships to money market mutual funds, and present a detailed discussion of the crisis in the market, including the resulting Federal Reserve programs.Commercial paper issues ; Financial crises

The current recession: how bad is it?

In a recession, the severity of the decline is just as relevant as the duration of the recession.Recessions