Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Headlines
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta plays an important part in all three of the Fed's functions--monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and the operation of a nationwide payments system.

• Undocumented Worker Employment and Firm Survivability
  Working Paper 2008-28 by J. David Brown, Julie L. Hotchkiss, and Myriam Quispe-Agnoli. Firms employing undocumented workers have a competitive advantage over those that don't, the authors find. In addition, firms are more likely to employ undocumented workers if their competitors do.
• Atlanta Fed President Says U.S. Economy Needs Rebounds in Housing, Confidence
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. As the recession heads into the new year, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said in a recent speech that once housing prices stabilize and consumer confidence rebounds, a recovery can begin to take effect.
• Fed Chair Addresses Fed Policies in Current Environment
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, recently discussed turmoil in the economy. He described measures the Fed has taken to stabilize the economy and those that remain available to the central bank.
• Federal Reserve Introduces New Liquidity Facility, Extends Others
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. As part of its ongoing efforts to steer the U.S. economy through the current turbulence, the Federal Reserve has created a new facility to enhance market liquidity and extended the duration of three existing facilities.
• The Evolution of the Check as a Means of Payment: A Historical Survey
  Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 4, 2008. By Stephen Quinn and William Roberds. Despite their relative inefficiency, checks dominated the twentieth-century U.S. payment system. This article traces checks' thousand-year history, discussing how events created comparative advantages for checks that are only now being overcome by electronic payment methods.
• Bank Capital Ratios across Countries: Why Do They Vary?
  Working Paper 2008-27 by Elijah Brewer III, George G. Kaufman, and Larry D. Wall. The authors find that banks in countries with effective governance structures, stringent capital requirements, and prompt corrective action procedures tend to maintain higher capital ratios.
• Determinants of Domestic and Cross-Border Bank Acquisitions in the European Union
  Working Paper 2008-26 by Ignacio Hernando, María J. Nieto, and Larry D. Wall. In the European Union, larger banks and those that are poorly managed are likelier to be acquired by domestic banks. Banks listed on the stock market are more likely to be acquired by foreign banks.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Stabilization of the U.S. Mortgage Finance System
  Remarks by W. Scott Frame, Financial Economist and Policy Adviser of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, to the Rotary Club of Atlanta, Dec. 15, 2008.
• Dollar Continued Ascent in November
  The Atlanta Fed tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar relative to fifteen major currencies. Visitors can customize their view of dollar index data by generating charts and spreadsheets.
• On Economic Conditions and Building a Recovery
  Remarks by Dennis P. Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, to the U.S. Association of Energy Economics Annual Meeting in New Orleans, La., Dec. 4, 2008.
• Atlanta Fed Chief Describes Current Economic Weakness
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. In a recent speech, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said that he expects substantial economic weakness to extend into 2009, the unemployment rate will rise further, and inflation will moderate.
• Agencies Outline Expectations of Banks' Role in U.S. Economy
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. Several agencies with bank oversight responsibilities recently stated their expectation that banking organizations will fulfill their fundamental role in the economy as sources of credit to business, consumers, and other creditworthy borrowers.
• Atlanta Fed Explores Southeast's Foreclosure Plight
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. A recent report from the Atlanta Fed's EconSouth magazine discussed the causes and repercussions of the foreclosure crisis from the Southeast's perspective and presents resources for affected homeowners.
• Fed Report Says Paper Checks Increasingly Becoming Electronic
  Financial Update, Fourth Quarter 2008. A recent Federal Reserve study shows that a greater share of paper checks are being converted into electronic payments and that the number of checks being written continues to decline.
• Immigration and the Macroeconomy
  Working Paper 2008-25 by Federico S. Mandelman and Andrei Zlate. The authors analyze the cyclical dynamics of labor migration in the presence of border enforcement and the role of remittances in smoothing consumption across household members residing in different countries.
• Toward a Durable Recovery
  Remarks by Dennis P. Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, to a conference in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 7, 2008.
• Atlanta Fed's Lockhart: Economic Weakness to Extend into 2009
  Dennis P. Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said that he expects substantial economic weakness to extend into 2009 with the unemployment rate rising some more.
• Regional Economic Update on the Southeast for October 2008
  Track economic developments in the six Southeastern states with the latest reports and analysis of various data series, including the D6 Factor, a broad measure of the region's economic conditions.
• Atlanta Fed Discontinues Dollar Index
  The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta today announced that it will cease publication of the bank's dollar index following the Jan. 7, 2009, release of the December 2008 data.
• Dollar Saw Large Increase in October
  The Atlanta Fed tracks the performance of the U.S. dollar relative to fifteen major currencies. Visitors can customize their view of dollar index data by generating charts and spreadsheets.
• Research Notes - November 2008
  Featuring research published in October 2008.
• Fed, Other Agencies Encourage Banks to Participate in Treasury's Capital Purchase Program, Other Programs
  The Fed and other banking and thrift regulatory agencies on Monday encouraged eligible financial institutions to use the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program and the FDIC's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.
• Atlanta's Fate in the Current Financial Crisis
  Remarks by Dennis P. Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, to the Buckhead Rotary Club, Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 20, 200