Remarks before the National Association for Business Economics, Dallas, Texas, September 12, 2011 ; "It is incumbent on the Fed and other bank regulators to reduce the regulatory burdens that are inhibiting indeed, overwhelming community bankers whose business it is to lend to creditworthy small...

A familiar old saw about the conduct of monetary policy is that it's like trying to drive a car while looking only in the rearview mirror. The idea is that policymakers are trying to steer a course that will keep the economy close to full employment with low, stable inflation, while their only...

In the United States, there are two broad indexes of consumer prices: the consumer price index, or CPI, and the chain price index for personal consumption expenditures, or PCEPI. Because the indexes are similar in many respects, the inflation rates measured with them often move in parallel....

Research over the past decade has led to improved measures of core inflation in the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. This paper discusses the application of some of the insights and techniques of that line of research to the Federal Reserve Bard of Governors’ preferred inflation gauge, the price...

Global food prices are soaring. Since February 2009, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization world food price index has risen roughly 67 percent, surpassing the previous peak in June 2008 (Chart 1). The last food price surge, from early 2007 to mid-2008, prompted riots in many...

Remarks before the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Florham Park, New Jersey.

Core inflation measures constructed by excluding particularly volatile items from the price index have a long history. The most common such measures are indexes excluding the prices of food and energy items. This paper attempts to shed some statistical light on the impact of excluding certain...

In 2008, personal consumption expenditures represented 70% of gross domestic product, or total spending on final goods and services, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. This article analyzes consumer sentiment and spending data to uncover differences across income and education...