The FED Said (actually this was from a Fed link to the NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH) Since 2000, gross profit rates in the United States have risen and industry concentration has soared, but these trends are not found in the European Union. Until the late 1990s, most U.S. markets were viewed as highly competitive […] Read more
The FED Said The stakes are high for the Southeast as the United States tries to work out new trade agreements with Mexico and Canada. The talks are intended to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the treaty between Mexico, Canada, and the United States that took effect in 1994. The United States […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts indicated that economic activity expanded at a moderate pace since the previous report. On balance, the outlook among firms for the remainder of the year was positive, despite some uncertainty surrounding trade policy. Firms continued to cite hiring challenges, […] Read more
The FED Said As businesses in the Southeast struggle to fill low-skill jobs, some firms say they plan to move to places with larger pools of available workers, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s new Beige Book report on regional economic conditions. Atlanta Fed business contacts report that overall economic activity continued to expand moderately […] Read more
The FED Said Job creation—particularly in major cities—is one of the biggest drivers of residential real estate, attracting individuals and families to a new area. Over the past seven years, the United States has created an average of 200,000 new jobs a month. During that same time, the states in the Atlanta Fed’s district—Alabama, Florida, […] Read more
The FED Said Recent steps to scale back U.S.-Cuba ties have dampened U.S. travel and business interest in the island nation, two American entrepreneurs in the country told a forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “The word of the day in Cuba right now is uncertainty,” said Collin Laverty, who operates an educational […] Read more
The FED Said That outcome would create an historical symmetry. Miami, after all, was born as what might now be called a transit-oriented development, or TOD. In the late 19th century, fewer than a million people lived in Florida, and Jacksonville was the fashionable destination for wealthy northerners. Railroad impresario Henry Flagler changed that by […] Read more
The FED Said “Nobody’s model does a very good job of how uncertainty and hits to confidence affect behavior,” says Deutsche Bank’s Peter Hooper in a recent Wall Street Journalarticle. Count us as sympathetic to his viewpoint. That’s one reason why a few of us at the Atlanta Fed created a national survey of firms in […] Read more
From the Harvard Business Review Today’s young professionals grew up in an age of mind-boggling technological change, seeing the growth of the internet, the invention of the smartphone, and the development of machine-learning systems. These advances all point toward the total automation of our lives, including the way we work and do business. It’s no […] Read more
The FED Said (Federal Reserve System) Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have drawn considerable attention from both the real and financial sides of the economy. The Atlanta Fed’s recent Financial Markets Conference, Machines Learning Finance: Will They Change the Game?, explored the implications of AI/ML for the financial system and public policy. […] Read more
The FED Said (Federal Reserve System) With U.S. unemployment down to levels not seen since 2000, job seekers are gaining the upper hand in the labor market as employers struggle to fill positions across skill levels. Such hiring difficulties are prompting some employers across the Southeast to raise pay. “We’ve been hearing that wage pressure […] Read more
The FED Said (Federal Reserve System) Overall US Economic Activity Economic activity continued to expand across the United States, with 10 of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts reporting moderate or modest growth. The outliers were the Dallas District, which reported strong growth driven in part by the energy sector, and the St. Louis District where […] Read more
The Fed Said The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Across the Southeast, consumer spending is up, and companies continue to have trouble finding qualified workers. Those are some of the findings from the latest Beige Book of economic conditions. Most businesses expect increased activity in the second part of this year despite some uncertainty related to […] Read more
The FED Said (Federal Reserve Atlanta) Residential complexes going up near Atlanta transit stations promote pools, leash-free dog parks, and lifestyles “where urbanity meets savvy simplicity.” If these amenities don’t evoke the gritty utility often associated with public transportation, they’ve achieved their desired effect. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is at the forefront […] Read more
The FED Said The new Beige Book covers some familiar themes, but also includes a few timely details that could portend future changes in certain economic sectors. Uncertainty and other effects of trade policy showed up among manufacturers and contacts in the transportation industry. Most manufacturing contacts reported increases in their costs, particularly for steel, […] Read more