Bank Launches Web Pages for Its Program in Consumer Credit & Payments

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia today introduced new web pages showcasing its Program in Consumer Credit & Payments. The new pages offer a one-stop resource for all of the Philadelphia Fed’s published research and statistics on consumer credit and payments. Read the press release.

Firms See Expansion in Manufacturing Activity

Responses from manufacturing firms polled for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Business Outlook Survey suggest that regional manufacturing activity continued to expand in February. The general activity index, the survey’s broadest measure of manufacturing conditions, increased to 10.2 this month from 7.3 in January. Read the press release. Read the report. Watch a video of the press conference on our YouTube channel.

Slower Decline Reported in Financial Well-Being of Lower Income Households

Financial factors facing low-income households declined less in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in previous quarters, according to the results from the latest Community Outlook Survey. Each quarter, service providers to these households give their views on a variety of factors that influence their clients’ economic circumstances. These factors include the availability of affordable housing, credit, and jobs, and households’ financial well-being. They are also asked to report on their capacity to meet demand for their services and their funding status. Read the press release. Read the report.

Speech: The Outlook and the Hazards of Accelerationist Policy

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and CEO Charles I. Plosser shares his economic outlook. He also discusses the hazards of trying to apply ever more monetary accommodation to speed up the economic recovery process, in a speech delivered at the University of Delaware Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship. Read the speech.

Read About Workforce Development, Green Jobs, and More in the Winter 2012 Cascade

The Winter 2012 issue of Cascade, the Bank’s community development newsletter, is now available. In this issue, read highlights from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a forum on effective community development corporations. Also included are an overview of green jobs training programs of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia; findings from a study on the early labor experiences of young men; and a look at a Los Angeles workforce development initiative.

Registration Opens for May’s Reinventing Older Communities Conference

Registration is now open for the fifth biennial Reinventing Older Communities conference. This year’s theme is building resilient cities, with a particular focus on smaller cities that were once manufacturing centers. Read the press release. Register for the conference, which will be held Wednesday, May 9, to Friday, May 11, 2012.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia helps formulate and implement monetary policy, supervises banks and bank holding companies, and provides financial services to depository institutions and the federal government. One of the 12 regional Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank serves eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Learn more about us.