Reflections on monetary policy: flexibility, transparency, and inflation

Monetary policy has come a long way in the past quarter century. Price stability has always been part of the Federal Reserve's policy mandate. Should the Fed now adopt explicit numerical guidelines or targets for inflation?Monetary policy ; Inflation (Finance)

Public policy and central counterparty clearing

Banks and banking, Central ; Public policy ; Risk management

Disruptions in global financial markets: the role of public policy

How should public policy evolve in light of the recent series of financial crises worldwide? In this article, the author argues that market discipline must play an essential role in any future policy reforms.Financial crises ; Public policy

China up close: understanding the Chinese economy and financial system (special issue)

In March 2007, the authors paid a weeklong visit to Beijing and Shanghai, China. In this article, they summarize some of the most striking impressions from their visit concerning the Chinese economy and financial system.Banks and banking, Foreign ; Economic conditions - China ; Banks and banking - China

The Global Edge: An Agenda for Chicago's Future

Examines the challenges the city faces in sustaining economic vitality, and lays out the priorities for the next two decades: improve transportation and infrastructure, build human capital, and increase global engagement

Asymptotic and Numerical Techniques for Resonances of Thin Photonic Structures

We consider the problem of calculating resonance frequencies and radiative losses of an optical resonator. The optical resonator is in the form of a thin membrane with variable dielectric properties. This work provides two very different approaches for doing such calculations. The first is an asymptotic method which exploits the small thickness and high index of the membrane. We derive a limiting resonance problem as the thickness goes to zero, and for the case of a simple resonance, find a first order correction. The limiting problem and the correction are in one less space dimension, which can make the approach very efficient. Convergence estimates are proved for the asymptotics. The second approach, based on the finite element method with a truncated perfectly matched layer, is not restricted to thin structures. We demonstrate the use of these methods in numerical calculations which further illustrate their differences. The asymptotic method finds resonance by solving a dense, but small, nonlinear eigenvalue problem, whereas the finite element method yields a large, but linear and sparse generalized eigenvalue problem. Both methods reproduce a localized defect mode found previously by finite difference time domain methods

PRECONDITIONING METHODS FOR THIN SCATTERING STRUCTURES BASED ON ASYMPTOTIC RESULTS

We present a method to precondition the discretized Lippmann–Schwinger integral equations to model scattering of time-harmonic acoustic waves through a thin inhomogeneous scattering medium. The preconditioner is based on asymptotic results as the thickness of the third component direction goes to zero and requires solving a two dimensional formulation of the problem at the preconditioning step

A Lightweight Loudspeaker for Aircraft Communications and Active Noise Control

A series of new, lightweight loudspeakers for use on commercial aircraft has been developed. The loudspeakers use NdFeB magnets and aluminum alloy frames to reduce the weight. The NdFeB magnet is virtually encapsulated by steel in the new speaker designs. Active noise reduction using internal loudspeakers was demonstrated to be effective in 1983. A weight, space, and cost efficient method for creating the active sound attenuating fields is to use the existing cabin loudspeakers for both communication and sound attenuation. This will require some additional loudspeaker design considerations

A tandem duplication within the fibrillin 1 gene is associated with the mouse tight skin mutation.

Mice carrying the Tight skin (Tsk) mutation have thickened skin and visceral fibrosis resulting from an accumulation of extracellular matrix molecules. These and other connective tissue abnormalities have made Tskl + mice models for scleroderma, hereditary emphysema, and myocardial hypertrophy. Previously we localized Tsk to mouse chromosome 2 in a region syntenic with human chromosome 15. The microfibrillar glycoprotein gene, fibrillin 1 (FBN1), on human chromosome 15q, provided a candidate for the Tsk mutation. We now demonstrate that the Tsk chromosome harbors a 30- to 40-kb genomic duplication within the Fbn1 gene that results in a larger than normal in-frame Fbn1 transcript. These findings provide hypotheses to explain some of the phenotypic characteristics of Tskl + mice and the lethality of Tsk/Tsk embryos