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The Fed loves a data buffet. What's on the menu these days?

Mar 20, 2024
Beyond government reports on inflation and jobs, it examines bank and payment processor data along with factory output, credit and rents.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell leaves a news conference. "I like to refer to the Federal Reserve as the Hoover vacuum of data," says former Fed economist Claudia Sahm.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Who cares what CEOs think about the economy? You probably should.

Jun 7, 2023
CEOs may not be economic wizards. But they have access to crucial data and make decisions that influence the economy.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is among the executives who participated in the Business Roundtable's quarterly survey, which predicted GDP growth of 1.5% this year.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

So how are consumers feeling about the economy post-SVB?

Mar 30, 2023
It may be hard to tell from some data out Friday, which is for February. But we may still get a read on whether consumer sentiment is changing.
February consumer spending numbers will show whether January's spending numbers were an anamoly.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

How much should we trust "seasonally adjusted" numbers these days?

Mar 8, 2023
January was an outlier for jobs, spending and inflation — but can we rely on seasonally adjusted data when the past three Januarys have been so weird?
Did a warm January encourage a surge in consumer spending and inflation? "It’s very hard to explain that all with weather," says Johns Hopkins economist Jonathan Wright.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The impact of survey fatigue on key economic indicators

Mar 7, 2023
Response rates to The Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS report are continuing to waver according to Bloomberg reporter, Reade Pickert.
Survey fatigue is impacting response rates to important economic data surveys.
Michael Cohen/Getty Images

Next week's economic data will tell us a lot

Nov 25, 2022
Reports on inflation, consumer confidence and jobs will be consequential. We asked economists to point out the most important items.
"If consumers were truly, truly worried," says economist Jennifer Lee, discretionary spending on things like restaurant lunches "would be one of the first areas they would cut back on."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

One of the world's largest economic databases turns 30

Nov 25, 2021
The Federal Reserve Economic Database, or FRED, has been an important resource for economists and more for decades. But what's next step for the database?
The exterior of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which houses FRED.
Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

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Why breaking down economic data helps create equitable policy

May 19, 2021
“I want to look at reports and see all of me,” says economist Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe.
"A first step to promoting equity in Government action is to gather the data necessary to inform that effort," Biden said in his executive order on advancing racial equity.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Here's what the crescendo of unemployment sounds like

Jun 24, 2020
Jordan Wirfs-Brock "sonified" data from unemployment claims to give us another way to process historic job losses.
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Economic disruption could lead to less reliable economic data

Mar 12, 2020
The COVID-19 epidemic may make it harder for government agencies to track and report rapid changes in the U.S. economy.
Economic data could become less reliable as people change their behaviors during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jeenah Moon/Getty Images