Mutual funds have become an important intermediary between households and financial markets, especially the equity market. About half of all households have a mutual fund account, and mutual funds hold about one-fifth of household financial assets. Because households have favored equity...

The Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finances for 2007 provides insights into changes in family income and net worth since the 2004 survey. The survey shows that, over the 2004-07 period, the median value of real (inflation-adjusted) family income before taxes was little changed, while...

This article presents a number of key findings from a review of the data that mortgage lending institutions reported for 2010 under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The article documents home-purchase lending activity reflected in the HMDA data and discusses how the ending of the...