Observations
Working notes on the Federal Reserve corpus.
Interpretive arguments warranted by the data, by Derek Harmon. Each piece is dated, citable, and links to the underlying documents.
April 29, 2026 · 4 min read
The Maestro played solo.
Greenspan got the conductor's title. Powell got the conductor's job.
Across four modern Federal Reserve Chairs, the Board has gone from soloist with small chorus (Greenspan, 76% of speech output) to quiet Chair with loud chorus (Powell, 13%). The role of the Chair has quietly transformed.
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April 29, 2026 · 3 min read
What the Fed publishes, and why.
Twenty channels, five functions, one institution.
A guide to the Federal Reserve's twenty communication channels, organized by the function each one serves: deliberation, decision, explanation, reporting, and research.
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