Gene Amromin, Vice President and Director of Financial Research at the Chicago Fed, and Jane Dokko, Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Policy Studies at the Chicago Fed, present their conclusions on lessons learned from the Great Recession and how they might be applied to develop policy that helps financially stressed homeowners during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chicago Fed Senior Business Economist Paul Traub presents an update on the U.S. economy, including personal consumption, business investment, global trade, government spending, employment conditions, inflation and interest rates.

Rob Grunewald, Economist, and Ben Horowitz, Senior Project Manager, will provide an overview of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis’ research and analysis regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the child care market.

David Oppedahl discusses findings in the August 2020 Chicago Fed Ag Letter, including farmland values, agricultural credit conditions, borrowers’ repayment issues and nominal interest rates for farm-related loans.

Megan Cruz, Senior Economic Education Specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, provides an overview of the St. Louis Fed’s efforts in partnering with Native American tribes and communities to implement personal finance and economic education programs.

Prior to COVID-19, the Midwest experienced a decade of growth that benefited some populations and places more than others. Susan summarizes findings from focus groups on what leaders might consider to create sustained economic resilience, implications for inclusive policy and practice and the relevance of COVID-19 to preexisting barriers and divisions.

As the effects of COVID-19 have intensified, the official measures of unemployment may not fully capture the devastation to the labor market. Jason Faberman, Senior Economist and Research Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, discusses labor market changes during the COVID-19 crisis.

Atlanta Fed Director, Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity Stuart Andreason, author of Introducing the Unemployment Claims Monitor, discusses his research on unemployment during Covid-19 and how it can be applied to workforce development policies as economies reopen.

According to the most recent Ag Letter, the current agriculture economy has decreased substantially, alongside much of the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. What is changing for farmers, the food sector and the economy? Join us for a discussion with senior business economist David Oppedahl to discuss farmland values and how they have changed, key concerns of farmers and agricultural bankers and challenges that agricultural producers may have in the coming months.

Join Connie Theien, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations for the Federal Reserve System as she provides the latest update on development of FedNow – the Federal Reserve’s instant payments service.

The coronavirus pandemic is exacerbating existing inequalities in the United States. Service workers, including those working in food service, cleaning and building maintenance, retail and hospitality, and warehouse jobs are facing particularly acute challenges at this time.

Ann Marie from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Barbara from the Federal Reserve Board discuss their research on the experiences of small businesses that seek credit from fintech lenders.

According to the most recent summary of economic conditions, farmers are somewhat optimistic about trade and agriculture. Yet, has agriculture's financial situation changed from a year ago?

David discusses farmland values, key concerns of farmers and agricultural bankers, and challenges that agricultural producers may have the rest of the year.

At the January Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Committee indicated that the labor market remains strong and that economic activity continues to rise at a moderate rate. They also mentioned the following: job gains have been solid recently. The unemployment rate has remained low. Household spending has been rising at a moderate pace. Business fixed investment and exports remain weak.

Paul discusses what this means for the U.S. economy.

Dionissi, Dan, and Eric discuss the persistence of the racial wealth gap and specifically why black households in the U.S. have, on average, less weather than white households.

Tim Todd discusses the widely unknown history of African American banks that provided benefits to the communities they served. The Kansas City Fed recently published the historical book, Let Us Put Our Money Together: The Founding of America's First Black Banks. Discover how three banks – True Reformers, Capital Savings Bank, and the Alabama Penny Saving Bank – innovated community banking.

Dan discusses the link between real wage growth and unemployment for different demographic groups and how the economic recovery has impacted less advantaged groups.

Paul discusses the current economic situation for the U.S. and Michigan, provides an update of economic activity for Detroit, and the Fed’s perspective and an update on monetary policy.

Note: Due to technical difficulties, a recording of this webinar is not available. You may download the slide deck here.

Diane discusses the effects of pollution from emission-cheating cars on the health of infants and children, the broader health costs of car pollution, and how to address concerns with emissions.

David Oppedahl discusses farmland values and how they have changed since the first quarter of the year, key concerns of agricultural banks, and challenges that agricultural producers may have the rest of the year.

Rick Mattoon discusses the economic benefits of infrastructure investment, selecting and funding projects, and the hidden costs to financing projects.

While U.S. economic growth is expected to remain slightly above its potential for 2019, forecasters are now predicting economic growth to fall below 2.0% for 2020. Like the U.S. economy, light vehicle sales, a strong indication of Michigan’s economic health, are projected to continue to slow through the end of the year. Paul Traub discusses what these forecasts mean for the economies of the U.S. and Michigan.

Discussed latest developments from the February AgLetter.