UsEco 25/09/2019 : US economic news
MONETARY POLICY
Peter Conti-Brown
What Happens If Trump Tries to Fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell?
Brookings - Up Front - September 9, 2019
“President Trump has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. In a new Hutchins Explainer, Peter Conti-Brown breaks down the legal and practical governance of the Federal Reserve system and the possible implications of the President removing its chair from office.”
Marco Cipriani, Jeff Gortmaker, and Gabriele La Spada
The Transmission of Monetary Policy and the Sophistication of Money Market Fund Investors
FRB New York – Liberty Street Economics – September 4, 2019
“To what extent are changes in the federal funds rate transmitted to cash investors, and are there differences in the pass-through between retail and institutional investors? The authors describe the impact of recent rate increases on the yield paid by money market funds to their investors and show that the impact varies depending on an investor’s sophistication.”
Mary C. Daly
A New Balancing Act: Monetary Policy Tradeoffs in a Changing World
FRB San Francisco - Economic Letter - September 3, 2019 – 7 pages
https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/el2019-23.pdf
“A new and less familiar economic environment has emerged in the United States and other countries. Our collective futures now include slower potential growth, lower long-term interest rates, and persistently weak inflation. This new landscape demands we think differently about how to balance and achieve price stability and full employment objectives. The following is adapted from a speech by the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to the conference “Inflation Targeting—Prospects and Challenges” in Wellington, New Zealand, on August 29.”
Sage Belz and David Wessel
What Is Yield Curve Control?
Brookings – Up Front – August 14, 2019
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/08/14/what-is-yield-curve-control
“As central banks consider tools to bolster their economies amid a global slowdown, Federal Reserve officials have expressed interest in the Bank of Japan's use of yield curve control. A new explainer from the Hutchins Center answers several key questions about how this unconventional program works.”
Paul Wilden
Building Trust in the Crypto Market
Global Trade – Article - August 12th, 2019
https://www.globaltrademag.com/global-trade-daily/building-trust-in-the-crypto-market/
The cryptocurrency (‘crypto’) market is on the rise. Bitcoin, the main altcoin with a market share of over 60%, has seen its price increase from around $4,000 in April 2019 to over $10,000 in July 2019… Crypto represents a good opportunity for investors and it has a big future. There will undoubtedly be market consolidation, with a small number of the 1,500+ altcoins in circulation emerging as a favored core. As institutional investor appetite increases, bigger names will enter the arena. You can stay ahead of the game by using an escrow agent to implement custodial arrangements and manage the risks associated with this emerging asset class.”
Corrie E. Clark and Heather L. Greenley
Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the Energy Sector
Congressional Research Service – Report – August 9, 2019 – 30 pages
https://fas.org/sgp/crs//misc/R45863.pdf
“The popularity of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology presents both challenges and opportunities to the energy sector. As interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has increased, the energy demand to support cryptocurrency “mining” activities has also increased. The increased energy demand—when localized—can exceed the available power capacity and increase customers’ electricity rates. On the other hand, not all cryptocurrencies require energy-intensive mining operations. Some cryptocurrencies can operate under algorithms that require less energy. In addition, blockchain technologies could present opportunities for the energy sector by facilitating energy and financial transactions on a smart grid.”
FINANCE
Banking Trends: How Foreign Banks Changed After Dodd–Frank
FRB Philadelphia – Economic Insights – Third Quarter 2019 – 6 pages
“One legacy of the Great Recession was the Wall Street Reform Act, but this act affected not only domestic banks. James DiSalvo examines how it also changed how foreign banks operate in the U.S.”
The Future of Identity in Financial Services: Threats, Challenges, and Opportunities
House Committee on Financial Services - Task Force on Artificial Intelligence – Hearing – September 12, 2019
https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hhrg-116-ba00-20190912-sd002_-_memo.pdf
This single-panel hearing will have the following witnesses:
•Anne Washington, Assistant Professor of Data Policy, NYU Steinhardt School
•Valerie Abend, Managing Director, Accenture Security
•Jeremy Grant, Coordinator, Better Identity Coalition
•Amy Walraven, President andFounder, Turnkey Risk Solutions
•Andre Boysen, Chief Identity Officer, SecureKey Technologies
Household Debt Report Shows Mortgage Debt Surpasses 2008 High
FRB New York – Report – August 2019
https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2019/20190813
“The latest Household Debt and Credit Report showed that total consumer debt continued to climb in the second quarter of 2019, with nominal mortgage debt reaching a record $9.4 trillion. Meanwhile, mortgage delinquencies and the average credit profile of mortgage borrowers continued to improve. Elsewhere, credit card delinquency rates continued to rise. In an accompanying Liberty Street Economics post, New York Fed economists explored how delinquency rates are calculated.”
Anthony Cilluffo
5 Facts About Student Loans
Pew Research Center – Fact Tank - August 13, 2019
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/13/facts-about-student-loans/
“For starters, about a third of adults under 30 have student loan debt, and the total amount owed has more than doubled in the past decade.”
USEco 23/10/2019 : US economic news
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