Six Hundred Atlantic

When countries practice geoeconomics, they use their economic might to win concessions from other nations. Geoeconomics can include tools like industrial policy, tariffs, and embargoes. But some say these economic...

Global trade is the world economy’s “hidden wiring:” Instead of trading finished goods, countries exchange product components and services, linking nations across the world through spread-out supply chain models. But...

Money moves through the U.S. payments system every second of the day. One key part of that system is the FedNow ® Service, the Federal Reserve’s instant payment rail. Launched in 2023, it enables financial institutions...

“Is college worth it?” Boston Fed research indicates the answer is yes. It shows a correlation between higher salaries and higher educational attainment in New England over the last 40 years. Also, people with more...

Instant payments often aren’t “instant” at all, due to lags between when money is sent and received. These lags can be costly for people who need the money immediately to pay bills on time. Some end up paying late or...

How is tariff uncertainty affecting the outlooks of small and medium-sized businesses, and how will this impact consumers? Boston Fed Research Director Egon Zakrajšek is part of a team at the Bank investigating this...

At one time, the housing affordability crisis was associated with certain addresses. Often, they were in high-demand coastal cities and nearby communities. Today, though, people from all corners of the country are...

Private credit, or loans by non-bank lenders, has grown rapidly in recent years. This lending is even approaching the volume of some traditional sources of business credit, like bank loans. As the rise of private credit...

People in the credit business are starting to see just how much AI can do for them. It can improve profits and lower defaults. It can predict demand for new services. It can see past credit scores and comprehensively...

Decentralized finance feels like the future. This category of financial services is built on blockchain technology and transacted solely in crypto. It’s executed by automated programs called “smart contracts,” which...

Financial technology, known as fintech, is everywhere. If you send money by phone or invest with the help of robo -advisors, you’re using it. It s proponents say by lowering costs, it can expand the range of financial...

What is t he B ei ge B ook ? It’s the story of the economy that you can’t always see in the numbers. Eight times a year, each Federal Reserve Ban k publishes a Beige Book after gathering real-world economic insight from...

The Fed’s latest small businesses survey found that 80% of respondents reported challenges related to how they send and receive payments, including credit card processing fees and slow payments systems. Brian Clarke is...

Synthetic identity fraud is a fast-growing and costly type of financial fraud, and its threat is increasing – thanks to generative AI. Criminals use Gen AI to quickly create synthetic identities and make these fake...

There are more ways to pay than ever, and payments are critical to the economy. Their safety and efficiency significantly impact the nation’s fiscal health. Boston Fed senior economist Joanna Stavins discusses the...