As inflation raises the overall price level in an economy, the purchasing power of the dollar decreases and both borrowing and lending costs increase. The January 2023 issue of Page One Economics® discusses how price indexes can be used to transform nominal wages and interest rates into real, or inflation-adjusted, values.

Consumers see or hear thousands of advertisements each day. The April 2017 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance reviews advertising history and strategies ads use to create demand and influence consumer tastes and preferences.

What constitutes a recession? Two quarters of negative real GDP growth? Well, most of the time that “rule of thumb” definition works, but not always. The NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee has a more nuanced way of determining what a recession is. This essay discusses where recessions come from, how they are determined, and how they end.

Consumers often measure whether they got a good deal on a purchase by the difference between the original price and a sales price. The bigger the difference is, the better the deal feels. The original price a consumer is exposed to becomes a reference point, or an anchor. The April 2021 issue of Page One Economics® Focus on Finance explains the anchoring effect and the role it plays in the decisionmaking process when it comes to what consumers are willing to pay for a good or service.

A higher minimum wage would provide higher income for low-wage workers but also likely reduce job opportunities. Some of the reduction in job opportunities would occur from employers automating job tasks to replace more expensive human labor. The November 2021 issue of Page One Economics® explains how a higher mandated wage may lead some firms to substitute capital for labor.

There are many reasons to keep your money in a bank or credit union. The October 2020 issue of Page One Economics®: Focus on Finance describes what banks, credit unions, and online banks are and outlines things to consider when choosing where to have an account and what type of account to have.

Many people find themselves in financial trouble, but it is good to know there are options available should you need serious financial help. The April 2018 bonus edition of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance discusses earning income, budgeting, late payments, and collections. It introduces the basics of legal protection offered in the form of bankruptcy and describes some potential consequences of filing a bankruptcy case.

Inflation numbers are important economic indicators. But thinking beyond the numbers reveals a deeper reality. For example, how do businesses respond to inflation? Some resort to shrinkflation and skimpflation. Learn about these practices and their effects on consumers in the December 2022 issue of Page One Economics®: Focus on Finance.

Crypto assets have increasingly occupied news headlines and the minds of many consumers. While initially introduced as a payment system, crypto assets are seen by many as an enticing investment opportunity. This issue of Page One Economics® introduces crypto assets, blockchain technology, and the emerging crypto universe.

While many people have heard of Bitcoin, far fewer understand it. In short, Bitcoin is a digital currency that allows transactions independent of the banking system. Lately, many people are buying Bitcoin purely as a financial investment, hoping it will appreciate. So which is it—currency or financial asset? Read more about it in the March 2018 issue of Page One Economics.

What do you need to know before buying a car? Aside from knowing what you want in a vehicle, you’ll need to know about budgeting and credit before you start shopping. Learn some car-buying basics in the February 2019 Page One Economics: Focus on Finance essay.

As the Rolling Stones song says, "You can't always get what you want." So we make choices. Every day, governments and individuals choose how much money to spend and what to purchase. The January 2013 issue discusses opportunity costs and scarcity and how they effect our spending decisions.

It's often said that a college degree is the key to future success. Choosing to attend college is a major decision for young people. But why is a degree so important? The December 2015 issue of Page One Economics examines two economic models used to study how education, productivity, and income are related.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed consumer spending habits. The January 2021 issue of Page One Economics® reviews how people substituted meals purchased at restaurants with meals cooked at home. Also, people traveled less and the demand for hotel services decreased. As a result, both employment and prices declined in the leisure and hospitality industry.

Many of even the most prepared young people could not have anticipated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn about some of the pandemic’s economic impacts on young people and their families and some information and tips for financial planning in the February 2021 Page One Economics®: Focus on Finance.

Credit bureaus have evolved into big businesses. The December 2017 issue of Page One Economics: Focus on Finance addresses the growth of credit bureaus and how the credit reports they maintain affect both creditors and borrowers.

With record-level credit card debt in the headlines, this December 2023 issue of Focus on Finance addresses credit card history, statistics, and usage, as well as reasons for the increase in credit card debt. The information in the article can help in managing credit card accounts, and students will better understand the economics of using revolving credit as they prepare to become cardholders!

FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) provides access to a wide range of data from multiple sources. Describing the source of data used in a presentation, written report, or research project with a citation makes that work more thorough and easier to replicate. This article describes the elements of a good data citation for new data users and serves as a reference for advanced data users.

FRED can display data in choropleth maps, using shading and colors to convey historical and current data for a given area. This Page One Economics Data Primer describes the different data geographies available in FRED, which help shape the stories behind the numbers.

This Page One Economics Data Primer describes the reasons data are revised and updated. More accurate data facilitate better decisionmaking.

Learn how FRED aggregates the latest data and ALFRED captures previous versions of the data.