Timely Topics

The St. Louis Fed's Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.

Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, is joined by Senior Economist Charles Gascon, who helps compile the qualitative summary of economic activity for the Beige Book. They discuss the anecdotal information that is collected and the way it informs how economists think about the economy.

St. Louis Fed economist Nathan Jefferson discusses highlights from the national Beige Book summary. An overall summary of the 12 district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis with the St. Louis Fed responsible for this edition. Also, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, provides highlights and the la...

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the St. Louis Fed's Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.

"Although it isn't exactly new, the most alarming recent feature of financial markets may be the inverted yield curve," says Chris Neely, an economist and vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explaining that short rates are higher than long rates currently and have been for some time. Neely discusses his research on the yield curve and recession indicators.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the July Beige Book.

"Of particular concern is the extent to which wages have kept up with the rising cost of living," says Victoria Gregory, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in explaining the distinction between real and nominal wage growth. Gregory discusses her research on inflation and real wages in this podcast episode.

"People's tendency to learn more information about the economy during crisis and downturns can actually lead to greater uncertainty," says Yu-Ting Chiang, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, discussing the effect of macroeconomic uncertainty on information consumption and decision making.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the May Beige Book.

"Wealthy households, by investing mostly in their own businesses … compound their wealth at a much higher rate than the rest of the population," says Serdar Ozkan, a research officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explaining how the wealthiest people became rich.

In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the April Beige Book.

"The data shows that most of the individuals during the COVID-19 episode—among those who quit—they quit to take another job," says Serdar Birinci, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Birinci discusses his research on job transitions in this podcast episode.

"I would say that, in the present conditions, a soft landing is possible given that it's likely that poaching vacancies go down by more than unemployment vacancies,"  says Paulina Restrepo-Echavarria, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. "We're kind of hopeful."

"Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level," says Chris Neely, a vice president in the Research Division at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He discusses the basics of inflation—how it affects the economy, the causes of inflation and how to control it.

When the fed funds rate increases, it turns out that interest rates for checking, savings or time deposits don't increase by as much, notes Julian Kozlowski, a senior economist at the St. Louis Fed. Consumers may then choose to invest in less-liquid, but higher-return assets. This, in turn, can decrease—or "dry-up"—liquidity in financial markets. Kozlowski discusses all things liquidity in this Ti...

"How can firms and how can governments internalize uncertainty of a future shock and what can they do today to hedge the risks of something happening in the future?" asks Ana Maria Santacreu, research officer at the St. Louis Fed, in her latest discussion about supply chain disruptions.

"FRED is basically a trusted source of economic data," says Katrina Stierholz, group vice president who oversees FRED at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She is joined by Carlos Garriga, research director; Keith Taylor, FRED data officer; and Yvetta Fortova, FRED product owner; in a discussion about the history of this economic data, how they focus on the experiences of FRED users and share...

"We're experiencing relative scarcity of shipping capacity. So, it's no surprise that we've been facing not just higher prices but also increased delays," says Fernando Leibovici, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He examines international shipping cost increases.

"During the pandemic, a lot of people had reasons to retire and the way that markets evolved allowed them to retire," says Miguel Faria-E-Castro, a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He is joined by Lowell Ricketts, a data scientist at the Institute for Economic Equity, to discuss the "Great Retirement," how COVID-19 is connected to increased retirements and the demograph...

"Over the past few decades, production has become more global … and as a result, the production process today is more fragmented and is more complex than what it was several decades ago," says Ana Maria Santacreu, senior economist at the St. Louis Fed, who discusses her research on disrupted supply chains.

"The impact that everyday people can have on policy and procedures," surprised Alice K. Houston when she first became a member of the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She shares her experiences as a child of the civil rights movement growing up in segregated Louisville, challenges she faced as a minority business owner and her commitment to community service.

"The initial effects of the pandemic on employment were actually uneven across occupations," says Serdar Birinci, economist at the St. Louis Fed, adding that service industries saw the largest effects.

"There are a couple of differences between Black and white millennials that may help explain these [wealth] disparities," says Lowell Ricketts, data scientist at the Institute for Economic Equity at the St. Louis Fed, who cites student loans and home ownership. Ricketts joins Ana Hernández Kent, senior researcher, in a discussion about the wealth accumulation of millennials.

"As countries have become more integrated, not only in terms of trading goods and services but also in terms of trading ideas, protecting intellectual property has become more important," says Ana Maria Santacreu, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

"We believe rural communities will achieve longer-term, more durable success if they look inside their boundaries for opportunities to invest in and focus on," says Daniel Paul Davis, vice president and community affairs officer at the St. Louis Fed. Davis joins Andrew Dumont, senior community development analyst at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, as they discuss a new book they co-edited,...