Perhaps no piece of news garners more attention in exchange markets than the U.S. employment report. Yet there has been only limited research on the market's response to the monthly release. This article quantifies the impact of the report and explains why exchange market sensitivity to the...

Some market observers attribute the dollar's recent drop against the mark and yen to a type of currency option known as the knockout option. Although knockouts did contribute modestly to the dollar's fall, their full impact was felt to a much greater extent in the option markets.

The electronic purse, a new payments instrument offering advantages to both consumers and merchants, may soon replace currency in many routine transactions. Widespread use of the electronic purse could, however, raise concerns about consumer protection and the safety and soundness of the instrument.

Federal interstate banking and branching reform is about to become a reality, with the first phase of new legislation going into effect later this year. Past experience at the state level suggests that reform will accelerate the pace of industry consolidation but may not lead immediately to...

Sovereign ratings are gaining importance as more governments with greater default risk borrow in international bond markets. But while the ratings have proved useful to governments seeking market access, the difficulty of assessing sovereign risk has led to agency disagreements and public...

Bills to expand individual retirement accounts have been introduced in both houses of Congress this year. While proponents argue that these accounts can help reverse the nation's declining saving rate, recent economic research suggests that the effect of the accounts on savings is in fact quite...

Recent dramatic changes in the U.S. economy's structure have compelled BEA to revise the way in which it measures real GDP levels and growth. By switching to a chain-weighted method of computing aggregate growth--which relies heavily on current price information--BEA will be able to measure GDP...

In New York City, tourism has made impressive gains in recent years, particularly in the foreign visitor segment. While not large enough to propel the city's economy, this long-term growth industry is critical to maintaining the local export base and providing jobs to low-skilled workers.

Economic activity in the New York region depends heavily on the health sector - a sector that helped buoy New York's economy during the region's 1989-92 downturn. But with fundamental changes occuring in health care, will the sector still bolster the region's economy in the years to come?