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Will new tariffs affect monetary policy? For now, it's wait-and-see

Dec 9, 2024
Carola Binder, an economist at the University of Texas at Austin, explains why tariffs might cause prices to rise, but they doesn't necessarily mean the Fed will get involved right off the bat.
Imported cars parked at the Port of Los Angeles.
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What to expect when you’re expecting a Fed framework review

Sep 24, 2024
A lot has happened in monetary policy since the last time the Federal Reserve updated its long-term strategy goals.
After a busy few years in monetary policy, it’s once again time for the Federal Reserve to conduct a review of its long-term strategy.
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That time the Fed bowed to political pressure before an election

It was the lead-up to the 1972 presidential election. An era of "stagflation" was ahead. And President Richard Nixon had a plan.
After first winning the presidential election in 1968, Richard Nixon sought a boost to win reelection in 1972. So he devised a scheme to influence the Fed — and monetary policy — for a friendly economic environment in the lead-up.
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Atlanta Fed’s Bostic calls on patience amid the clamor for interest rate cuts

Aug 15, 2024
Despite high prices, “wages are growing faster than inflation," and families’ purchasing power is growing, he says.
"The first thing I think is inflation is getting back to target in an orderly way," says Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Atlanta Fed, about the CPI falling to 2.9%.
Stephen Nowland/Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Kyla Scanlon wants to remind us that "people are the economy"

May 30, 2024
Scanlon explains her philosophy of economic education in this excerpt from her book, "In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work."
Jordan Mangi/Marketplace

Inflation and politics have always been connected

May 21, 2024
Rising costs have long been a concern for Americans. What's changed is how the government intervenes in prices, economist Carola Binder writes.
"The return of inflation was not only, or even primarily, an academic concern. It was, even more, a social and a political one," economist Carola Binder writes in her book "Shock Values."
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

When it comes to inflation, monetary policy might not be getting the job done

Mar 9, 2023
"It's clear there have been some shifts in the economy that just make their policies less effective," says Neil Irwin of Axios.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared before the Senate Banking Committee.
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For public good, not for profit.

The Fed's heightened rates are still way below historic levels

Jun 23, 2022
Trevon Logan, professor of economics at The Ohio State University, says we're looking at a "new normal" for the federal funds rate.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images

How looking back at the Fed’s past can help us understand its future

May 17, 2022
Former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's new book charts a history of “remarkable innovation and change.”
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.
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What does it mean when the Federal Reserve uses its “tools”?

Mar 29, 2022
The Fed’s tools can only go so far. “All of this activity relies on the other institution at the end of the transaction,” said economics professor Nina Eichacker.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaking last week at the NABE Economic Policy Conference. "We aim to use our tools to moderate demand growth, thereby facilitating continued, sustainable increases in employment and wages," he said.
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