News & Advisories

Top News

Bernanke Testifies on Liquidity Facilities

November 18, 2008 — In today's testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services, Chairman Bernanke reviewed the results, to date, of TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) and other liquidity facilities in normalizing financial markets.

Forecasters See Recession for U.S. Economy

November 17, 2008 — The participants in the fourth quarter's Survey of Professional Forecasters said the U.S. economy has entered or will soon enter a period of recession. The survey also includes forecasts for nonfarm payroll employment, real GDP, and inflation indicators such as the CPI and PCE (personal consumption expenditures) for this quarter and all of 2009. The survey was released today.

Speech: The Economy and Financial Regulatory Reform

November 13, 2008 — Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and CEO Charles Plosser gives an economic outlook and discusses regulatory reform in today's speech before The Economics Club of Pittsburgh.

Banks Urged to Meet Borrowers' Needs

November 12, 2008 — The regulatory agencies today jointly issued guidance to banking organizations on lending, strengthening capital, and structuring compensation. The agencies also are encouraging banks to negotiate workouts with struggling mortgage holders. See the news release.

Restructuring of Financial Support to AIG

November 10, 2008 — The Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Treasury have announced the restructuring of the government's financial support to the American International Group (AIG) in order to keep the company strong and facilitate its ability to complete its restructuring process successfully. See the news release.

Podcast: Standards in Economic Education

November 7, 2008 — In this episode of “Moments in Money and Economics,” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Economic Education Advisor Andrew Hill talks about the National Voluntary Content Standards in Economics and how he uses them to develop lesson plans for teachers.

Federal Reserve to Maintain Two Check Operations Sites

November 6, 2008 — The Federal Reserve Banks announced today that because of sharp declines in check volumes, processing operations will be handled in only two locations. By year's end 2009, processing of paper checks will be consolidated into the Cleveland Fed. The Atlanta Fed will perform all electronic processing, but the date for consolidation has not yet been determined. This announcement updates previously announced plans for checks consolidation. See the news release.

Consumer Alert: Fraudulent Loan Scheme

November 4, 2008 — The Federal Reserve Board has issued a press release alerting consumers to questionable solicitations that promise consumers access to personal loans through a nonexistent Federal Reserve lending program. The Federal Reserve is advising consumers that it has no involvement in these solicitations and does not directly sponsor consumer lending programs.

Financial Institutions Continue to Tighten Lending Standards

November 4, 2008 — The percentage of participants in the October Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey that reported tightening lending standards increased from the July survey. The survey is taken every three months.

Speech: Bernanke Discusses Future of Mortgage Finance

October 31, 2008 — Chairman Bernanke discusses the future of mortgage finance in the United States at the UC Berkley/UCLA symposium on mortgage meltdown, the economy, and public policy.

Analysis: Employment Data by MSA

October 30, 2008 — The Philadelphia Fed today posted analysis related to September's metropolitan area employment data for Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The data were recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

FOMC Lowers Fed Funds Target Rate

October 29, 2008 — The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to reduce the fed funds target rate by 50 basis points to 1 percent. See the statement.

Philadelphia Fed Releases Leading Indexes

October 29, 2008 — The Philadelphia Fed today released September's leading indexes for Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Analysis: Housing Permits

October 28, 2008 – The Philadelphia Fed today posted analysis related to data on regional housing permits for September.

Poverty, People, and Place

October 24, 2008 — A new report takes an in-depth look at areas of concentrated poverty across the country, presenting 16 case studies produced by the Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve System and the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program.

Advisories

Firms Asked About Expectations for Production and Employment

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will release November's Business Outlook Survey at 10 a.m., Thursday, November 20, 2008. In this month's special questions, the manufacturing firms were asked to report anticipated changes in their production levels during the fourth quarter. They were also asked to project changes in employment over the next six months. To interview our analyst on Thursday, contact Katherine Dibling at 215-574-4119.

Financial Crisis: Causes, Remedies, and Opportunities

Come to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Friday, November 21, 2008! Get some background on the end of the housing bubble and its far-reaching effects on our economy and the financial system. Get an in-depth look at new regulations and hear about the opportunities for neighborhoods to reinvent themselves after suffering the ravages of foreclosure and abandoned properties. For advance registration or more information, contact Katherine Dibling at 215-574-4119 or Marilyn Wimp at 215-574-4197.

FYI

Dallas Fed: Trimmed Mean PCE

The trimmed mean personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation rate for September, released by the Dallas Federal Reserve, was an annualized 2.2 percent. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the overall PCE inflation rate for September was 1.3 percent, annualized, while the inflation rate for PCE excluding food and energy was 2.1 percent.

Chicago Fed’s National Economic Activity Index

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was - 2.57 in September, down from - 1.61 in August.

Atlanta Fed: Dollar Saw Large Increase in October

The average monthly value for the trade-weighted dollar index of 15 major currencies tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta rose 7 percent in October from the previous month. See the news release.