Speaking of the Economy

Suzanne Holland talks about the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's recent visit to Martinsville to learn about the economic challenges and opportunities in the city and surrounding rural communities in southern Virginia. Kate Keller describes one issue in the region — the shortage of affordable housing — and the unique approach to the problem taken by her organization, the Harvest Foundation.

Zhu Wang discusses the emergence of "buy now, pay later" installment loans and shares his research on the potential impacts of this payment option on the credit risks of individuals and the stability of financial markets.

Thomas Lubik reviews how widely used macroeconomic data like GDP is compiled and updated, and how the revision process strikes a balance between decisionmakers' needs for timeliness and accuracy.

Pierre-Daniel Sarte and Sonya Waddell discuss the pricing data that the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond gathers from its monthly surveys of regional business activity and how that data can be used to inform inflation forecasts.

Andy Bauer and Amy Liu discuss the direct and spillover economic effects of the recent reductions in federal employment and spending on the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Zhu Wang and Russell Wong discuss the shutdown in the production of pennies in the U.S. and their research on how the penny's demise is expected to impose costs on consumers.

Anna Kovner, director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, reviews the significant, rapid changes in trade policy, immigration policy, and the size of the federal workforce in 2025. She also discusses how the Richmond Fed has assessed the economic impact of these changes through its research and outreach programs.

Huberto Ennis provides an updated view of the Federal Reserve's management of its balance sheet and the flow of reserves between banks, which were the focus of a recent conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.