The debit card interchange fee regulation introduced by the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act went into effect in October 2011. The regulation limits the maximum permissible interchange fee that a covered issuer can collect from merchants for a debit card transaction. In this issue of Economic Quarterly, Richmond Fed economist Zhu Wang reviews the regulation's first-year impact on different players in the debit card market.

The "poverty line," the federal government's statistical definition of poverty, has shaped discussions of U.S. antipoverty policy since the late 1960s. Are we defining poverty too broadly? Too narrowly? The cover story in this issue of Econ Focus looks at these and other questions about measures of material deprivation.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to continue its purchases of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities and to keep the federal funds rate low.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has announced that Mark L. Mullinix is the organization's newly-named first vice president and chief operating officer. Mullinix will oversee the financial services and support areas of the Bank's Fifth District operations beginning June 1, 2013. In this role, he will work with the Bank's leadership in setting strategic vision and business objectives and will work with other first vice presidents within the Federal Reserve System to lead operational strategy and policy. Mullinix succeeds Sally Green, who is retiring in May 2013, after an impressive Federal Reserve System career that has spanned more than 35 years.

The Board of Governors announced the new day of issue for the redesigned $100 note will be October 8, 2013.

The "Beige Book" report is published eight times per year and consists of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the minutes of the Committee meeting held on March 19-20, 2013.

The Federal Reserve Board in April will begin a statistical study of household finances, the Survey of Consumer Finances, that will provide policymakers with important insight into the economic condition of all types of American families.

Do you or someone you know have a major financial decision to make, such as paying for college, buying a home or planning for retirement? Then be sure to visit majorfinancialdecisions.org, a new website launched by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond announces the appointment of Brent Stanton as assistant vice president.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to continue its purchases of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities and to keep the federal funds rate low.