Many researchers have found that the lagged interest rate enters estimated monetary policy rules with overwhelming significance. However, a recent paper by Rudebusch (2002) argues that the lagged interest rate is not a fundamental component of the U.S. policy rule, and that its significance...

The stock of firms that issue equity has, on average, performed poorly in subsequent years, while the stock of firms that repurchase has typically done well. One explanation for this pattern is that firms are exploiting their superior knowledge about the value of their stock by buying it when it...

This paper describes the construction of a financial stress index. This stress index differs from other indexes in that it incorporates the co-movement and volatility of financial series as well as the levels of the series. Our index also uses past experience more than others to guide the...

Many researchers have found that the lagged interest rate enters estimated monetary policy rules with overwhelming significance, suggesting that policy adjusts gradually to changes in economic conditions. However, Rudebusch (2002) argues that the lagged interest rate is not a fundamental...

U.S. commercial banks had another very good year in 1996. Profits posted strong growth, preserving the high levels of return on equity and return on assets that have prevailed over the past four years. Helping to boost profits were continued strong growth of interest-earning assets, a slight...