Pieces of Eight: News Bulletins from the Eighth Federal Reserve District

Data At Your Desktop

The St. Louis Fed's weekly statistical publication, U.S. Financial Data, is now available free of charge over the Internet via the St. Louis Fed's web site, www.stls.frb.org.

U.S. Financial Data contains charts and tables of weekly monetary and reserve aggregates, selected interest rates, commercial bank loans and other information. The data are updated each Thursday by 5 p.m. Central Time.

Paper copies of U.S.F.D. are still available via first-class mail. A one-year subscription—50 issues—is $21. A two-year subscription is $36. For more information on the publication, or to subscribe, call (314) 444-8808.

Fed Focuses on Social Security Reform

Now that Social Security reform has risen to the top of the national agenda, the St. Louis Fed has begun providing a public forum for discussion on the topic through presentations and publications. As evidence, more than 75 economists, educators and business people gathered at the St. Louis Fed April 11 for a symposium titled, "Reforming Social Security in Theory and Practice."

At the symposium, academic experts on social security presented theoretical models and practical plans for moving the U.S. Social Security system away from its pay-as-you-go structure to one that's more fully funded. Privatization of all or parts of the system was also discussed, as were lessons that can be drawn from reform attempts undertaken in Latin America.

To receive copies of the papers presented at the symposium, contact Julie Fletcher in the Research Department at (314) 444-8587. To receive a copy of the St. Louis Fed's 1996 annual report, which also addresses social security reform, contact Debbie Dawe in Public Affairs at (314) 444-8809.

Summer School

Educators interested in integrating money and banking topics into their instruction of social studies, language arts and math are encouraged to attend the St. Louis Fed's second annual "Making Sense of Money and Banking" course.The one-week, for-credit course, which will be held at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis June 23-27, will feature guest speakers from the Fed, as well as tours, hands-on activities and classroom simulations.

Participants must register for the course through either Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville or the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Two hours of graduate credit will be awarded to educators who complete the course. For more information, contact Dawn Griffitts, economic education coordinator, at (314) 444-8421.

A Denser District