President's Message
Does the Fed ever descend from its ivory tower and mix it up with local economic participants?

"Shaking the Third Rail: Reforming Social Security"     by Michelle Clark Neely
Talk about changing Social Security used to be political poison. But increasing recognition of the program's long-term problems has put reform near the top of the national agenda.

"A Recipe for Monetary Policy Credibility"     by Kevin L. Kliesen
Concocting a credible monetary policy is far from easy, especially with the number of ingredients there are to choose from.

"District Jobs: Have They Been Gearing Up?"    by Adam Zaretsky
Pretty well, this year, after a lackluster 1995.

Pieces of Eight
Farm aid — The surprising state of small business loans — There's no place like home

District Data
Selected measures of the region's business, banking and agricultural sectors