In mid-November, the International Energy Agency forecasted that “extraordinary growth in oil and natural gas output in the United States will mean that … the United States becomes a net exporter of natural gas by 2020 and is almost self-sufficient in energy, in net terms, by 2035.” Similarly, the U.S. Energy Information Administration recently revised its long-term outlook, and re... Read More

A summary of economic conditions in the Seventh District from the latest release of the Beige Book and from other indicators of regional business activity: Overall conditions: Economic activity in the Seventh District continued to expand at a slow pace in October and early November. Consumer ... Read More

Falling prices for natural gas have encouraged those who believe that manufacturing activity will rebound in the years ahead. While abundant supplies and dampened prices for natural gas are certainly positive developments for U.S.1 manufacturing, the impacts may be modest in sum. Energy materials and fuel costs are important to many types of manufacturing processes and industries, but suc... Read More

As Americans' eating habits have evolved, so have our Thanksgiving feasts. Despite the holiday's grounding in tradition, popular trends reinvent even the most common menu items. Cranberry sauce appeared on the American table after it was fed to Union troops during long stalemates of the Civil War.2 Whipped cream appeared ubiquitously on pumpkin pie after the handheld mixer became ... Read More

There is ongoing discussion about the appropriate and sustainable size of government in our society. At the national level, some of the debate centers on the demographic-driven expansion and long-term sustainability of social benefit programs, such as Medicare and Social Security. Expansion in outlays for such programs has been rapid. Growth in these programs chiefly involves transfers of... Read More

The Detroit automakers (Chrysler, Ford, and GM) appear to be making headway in their market shares during this era of high and volatile fuel prices. If so, this represents something of a turnabout. When the price of gasoline rises quickly, Detroit usually tends to struggle in the marketplace. It is not surprising that increases in the price of oil can lower the demand for automobi... Read More

A strong surge in manufacturing output has been one of the hallmarks of the U.S. economic recovery since the 2008-09 recession. Along with this resurgence in production, manufacturers have also expanded their hiring following years of net job declines. Even before the recession, manufacturing employers and their trade associations voiced disappointment and concern about the “poor” availa... Read More

While manufacturing activity has been slowing over the past couple of months, its performance over the first half of 2012 would definitely be scored as a positive for the region. Seventh District manufacturing activity built on its momentum from last year and continued to grow through the first half of 2012. Growth occurred at rates fast enough to virtually eliminate the output deficit th... Read More

For central city economies like those of New York and Chicago, the 1970s were a low point as middle- and upper-income households in large numbers suburbanized out of older cities of the Northeast and Midwest. Since then, some central cities have been rediscovered, especially by younger and educated singles. Moreover, to a lesser extent, central cities have also been rediscovered by older ... Read More

A summary of economic conditions in the Seventh District from the latest release of the Beige Book and from other indicators of regional business activity: Overall conditions: Economic activity in the Seventh District continued to expand at a moderate pace in June and early July, although the pace of growth slowed. ... Read More