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How Do People Handle Financial Emergencies?
By YiLi Chien and Qiuhan SunHow do American households respond to a financial emergency? Obviously, this question is deeply related to households’ financial management and soundness, which vary greatly...
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Why the Fed Targets a 2% Inflation Rate
By Kristie Engemann, Public Affairs StaffA recent post on our Open Vault blog explained that the Federal Reserve has a so-called dual mandate for monetary policy — maximum employment and price...
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Education and Wealth’s Catch-22
By Ray Boshara, Senior Adviser and Director, Center for Household Financial StabilityWhen I was about 12 years old, I asked my dad where he got all his money. He unhelpfully remarked, “Son, it takes...
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How’s Your County Doing? A New Fed Tool Compares Socioeconomic Trends
By Michael EgglestonSecond to generational poverty, the issue having the greatest negative impact on people with low income is housing affordability, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis...
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Understanding the Roots of the U.S. Trade Deficit
By Brian Reinbold and Yi WenIntroductionRunning a trade deficit is nothing new for the United States. It has been running trade deficits since the 1970s. (See Figure 1.) However, trade deficits have...
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Predicting Recessions: Which Signals Are More Accurate?
By Don Schlagenhauf and Ryan MatherNote: This article originally ran in February 2019 on the St. Louis Fed’s On the Economy blog.As the yield spread between longer-term Treasuries and shorter-term...
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Behind the Scenes with the FRED Team
Members of the FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) team recently took to the St. Louis Fed’s Economy Museum to discuss all things FRED: the Bank’s long-standing commitment to public service, FRED’s...
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The St. Louis Fed’s Focus on Women in Economics
By James BullardNote: This article originally ran April 5, 2019, in the St. Louis Fed’s Regional Economist publication.Economics is a male-dominated field. Women are underrepresented starting at the...
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Unsecured Personal Loans Get a Boost from Fintech Lenders
By Eldar BeiseitovKey TakeawaysIn recent years, Americans have sharply increased their use of unsecured personal loans because of the growing presence of fintech lenders.Consumers are attracted to the...
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An Economist’s Guide to Tidying Up
Compiled by George Fortier and Christine SmithTidying up is a cultural phenomenon thanks to Marie Kondo’s books and Netflix show. Her KonMari method counsels consumers to painstakingly sort through...
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Accounting for Age: The Financial Health of Millennials
By Yi Chien, Paul MorrisKey TakeawaysMillennials and Generation X were the youngest working generations in 2016 and 2001, respectively. How do their balance sheets compare?Because of fewer assets and...
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Fintech: How Digital Wallets Work
By Julie Stackhouse, Executive Vice President, SupervisionNew payment options made possible by financial technology are changing the way we transact with friends, family and businesses. Digital wallets...
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Industry Mix May Help Explain Urban-Rural Divide in Economic Growth
By Charles S. Gascon and Brian ReinboldKey TakeawaysCounty-level GDP from the BEA provides another way to analyze differences between urban and rural areas in the U.S.Data suggest that rural areas have...
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Yield Curve Inversions and Foreign Economies
By Sungki Hong, EconomistGetty Images/ Designer491The U.S. yield curve — a plot of U.S. government bond yields over various maturities — inverted in both March and May 2019. Yield curve inversions...
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The Economic Costs of the Opioid Epidemic
By Kaitlyn Hoevelmann, Public Affairs StaffGetty Images/ Darwin BrandisA Brief BackgroundThe opioid epidemic that has now spanned several decades is rooted in the rise of prescription painkillers.There...
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Better than Ever? The Wealth of Retired Households
By YiLi Chien, QiuhanSunHow financially fit are U.S. retirees? How has their financial position evolved over time?There has been a growing interest in these issues as aging baby boomers continue to...
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How an Economist Who Studies Debt Handles Spending
“I’m Cheap”: How an Economist Who Studies Debt Handles SpendingBy Heather Hennerich, Public Affairs StaffWhen economist Don Schlagenhauf spoke to a roomful of high school students at the St. Louis...
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What Wealth Inequality in America Looks Like
By Ana Kent, Policy Analyst, Lowell Ricketts, Lead Analyst, and Ray Boshara, Senior Adviser and Director, St. Louis Fed Center for Household Financial StabilityThe charts in this article — which we’ll...
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Rebuilding North St. Louis Homes: Investment Connection
Rebuilding Homes and Restoring Hope in North St. LouisBy Nya Watson, Community Reinvestment Initiatives AnalystFor Andre Alexander, restoring old properties in St. Louis City’s North corridor is about...
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Working from Home: More Americans Are Telecommuting
By Iris Arbogast, Charles S. Gascon, Andrew SpewakKey TakeawaysThe share of Americans who primarily work from home has risen in recent decades, from 0.7% of full-time employees in 1980 to 3% in...
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