Federal Reserve Communications and Newswire Coverage

23 Pages Posted: 12 Jun 2013 Last revised: 1 Aug 2013

See all articles by Matthias Neuenkirch

Matthias Neuenkirch

University of Trier - Faculty of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Date Written: August 1, 2013

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the determinants of newswire coverage of Federal Reserve (Fed) communications. Our sample covers all 344 forward-looking communications made in the period May 1999–May 2004. We find, first, that there is a higher likelihood of newswire coverage for monetary policy reports and speeches by Chairman Greenspan than for testimony and speeches by other Fed members. Furthermore, communications with an explicit monetary policy inclination or tone different from the current interest rate path are particularly likely to be covered. However, the release of important macroeconomic news reduces the likelihood of newswire coverage. Second, speeches by regional Fed presidents are relatively less likely to be reported than speeches by Board members. Nevertheless, newswire coverage of Fed president speeches is more likely if central bank communication is stale. Finally, our results indicate that Ben Bernanke played a distinguished role even before his chairmanship.

Keywords: Central Bank Communication, Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy, Newswire Coverage

JEL Classification: D83, E52, E58

Suggested Citation

Neuenkirch, Matthias, Federal Reserve Communications and Newswire Coverage (August 1, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2277482 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2277482

Matthias Neuenkirch (Contact Author)

University of Trier - Faculty of Economics ( email )

Universitätsring 15
Trier, 54296
Germany
+49 - (0)651 - 201 - 2629 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=50130

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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