The FED Said The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 substantially reduced corporate taxes, from 35 percent to 21 percent. Some commentators and practitioners have voiced concerns about how the new tax law will affect demand for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), America’s primary mechanism for producing new or refurbished affordable housing units. […] Read more
The FED Said The share of the prime-age population engaged in the U.S. labor market is on the rise, led by a sharp rebound in the labor force participation (LFP) rate by prime-age female workers (those ages 25–54). This point was highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Since 2015 the LFP rate for prime-age women […] Read more
The FED Said Amid a largely positive Beige Book report on economic conditions in the Southeast, some small businesses report particular challenges competing with larger companies for a dwindling pool of available workers. Across the board, businesses continued to report pressure to increase wages for low-skill, hourly jobs, notably in the hospitality and retail industries. That’s good […] Read more
The FED Said Some of the most important forces that have molded Miami, economically and otherwise, emanated from outside Florida and even the United States. The evolution that largely produced today’s south Florida metropolis began 60 years ago. When Communists seized power in Cuba in 1959, a wave of exiles fled north, beginning a continuing […] Read more
The FED Said As concerns about widening gaps in income and wealth permeate economic policy discussion, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta assembled some of the field’s leading thinkers to explore the roots of inequality from various perspectives. When considering a topic as complex as inequality, economists and policymakers advance numerous questions such as the […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Reports from Sixth District business contacts described economic conditions as expanding at a moderate pace since the previous report. The majority of contacts are optimistic and expect the pace to continue for the remainder of the year. The labor market remained tight amid […] Read more
The FED Said In October 2017, Amazon ignited a frenzy among economic developers. When the company announced plans to open a second North American headquarters and staff it with 50,000 high-paying jobs, more than 200 cities, counties, and states made formal bids. Many jurisdictions promised publicly financed incentives—packages of tax breaks, free land, grants, and […] Read more
The FED Said The latest U.S. jobs reports shows that employment growth remains strong in the United States, helping push the unemployment rate to its lowest level in nearly 50 years. Although employment growth in the Southeast generally mirrors national trends, a look below the hood shows that the jobs recovery from the Great Recession has been […] Read more
The FED Said 2017 Small Business Credit Survey: Report on Disaster-Affected Firms Forty percent of firms in FEMA-designated disaster areas reported losses from recent storms. We examine which firms were hit hardest and how heavily they depend on aid and credit to get back in business. The Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS), an annual survey […] 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 (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 Once upon a time, tariffs—the fees levied on imported goods—were revenue-raising instruments for the federal government as much as protection for fledgling American industries. Hefty tariffs were the U.S. government’s primary source of revenue from 1790 to 1914, pointed out Federico Mandelman, an Atlanta Fed research economist. Put simply, in the 1800s, America […] Read more