For immediate release: August 12, 2008
David E. Altig, senior vice president and research director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, today announced the addition of an economics blog—titled macroblog—to the Atlanta Fed's Web site. The purpose of Atlanta Fed's macroblog, which Altig originally launched several years ago as an independent blog, is to provide commentary and observations on a variety of current economic topics, including monetary policy, macroeconomic developments, financial issues and Southeast trends.
Macroblog, which can be found on the Atlanta Fed's Web site at www.frbatlanta.org, will feature postings from Altig and other Atlanta Fed economists. According to Altig, "Macroblog will provide our Reserve Bank economists with another venue for publishing economic analysis but on a more timely basis." Altig launched macroblog in 2004 while working as an adjunct professor of economics in the graduate business school at the University of Chicago. Altig suspended the blog in August of last year, when he began his responsibilities at the Atlanta Fed.
The first posting to macroblog on the Atlanta Fed's Web site was made today. Going forward, new postings will appear on macroblog on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Postings will be made to macroblog during the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) blackout period, which runs from the week before the FOMC meeting until the Friday after it, but the postings during these periods will not comment on monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government.