Gadi Barlevy will become the executive vice president and director of research at the Chicago Fed, starting in June. For more than two decades, he has been a leading researcher at the Chicago Fed, serving currently as senior economist and economic advisor. bit.ly/49Iw2dp

The fundamental limit on use of LLMs to increase productivity? Insufficient incentives for humans in the loop. Humans with low incentives use AI to produce slop. And without humans, the productivity gains from AI are fairly limited to specific domains (like coding).

books: the rectangle that can’t send you push notifications. Try: books.

The Chicago Fed Real-Time Unemployment Rate Forecast for March is 4.49%, up slightly from the BLS value for the previous month. www.chicagofed.org/research/dat...

In our exclusive interview with Austan Goolsbee, he commented on Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee for Fed chair: “I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a person who knows the importance of Fed independence.”

@goolsbee.bsky.social 🫡

Black Onyx Allstars doesn't do second place. The South Side program continues to dominate at regional and national cheerleading competitions, with 18 wins since 2024.

Tell me you are not from the Midwest without saying you are not from the Midwest

The Chicago Fed Real-Time Unemployment Rate Forecast for February is 4.28%, so not likely to be much different from the BLS’s official reading last month. www.chicagofed.org/research/dat...

Chicago Fed President @goolsbee.bsky.social strikes an optimistic tone on the US economy, but notes inflation has gotten stuck—additional rate cuts hinge on seeing actual progress that inflation is heading back to 2% #NABE2026 @nabe-econ.bsky.social

This is a problem:

Brenda Langstraat Bui, who served as CEO of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, died at her home in the West Loop Friday evening, the foundation announced Monday. She was 52.

Austan Goolsbee can tell you why the Fed’s haters are wrong. slate.trib.al/tIWd6ak

A Very Special Slate MoneyTM: We talked to Chicago Fed president @goolsbee.bsky.social this week. You can listen here, or see our shining faces on YouTube if you prefer. slate.com/podcasts/sla...

Dad served 4 years in the Marine Corps right out of high school. We miss him and his courage a lot these days, but especially on this Veterans Day

magic goolsball, what do you think of cutting flights right before the holidays?

The Chicago Fed has released its final real-time forecast of the October unemployment rate. Visit our site for the data: www.chicagofed.org/research/dat...

A @chrisgiles.ft.com interview with @goolsbee.bsky.social (it's the interview published late last month i think)

At last week's Midwest Agriculture Conference, we were joined by farmers, the ag business community, and moderator @foxbusiness' Edward Lawrence for discussions on industry updates and trade conditions. www.chicagofed.org/publications... x.com/messages/med...

Thrilled to announce that John Leahy will become the Chicago Fed’s next director of research He’s the Allen Sinai Professor and chair of the Econ dept. at @umich and a great guy. Welcome to Da Bank, John. www.chicagofed.org/publications... x.com/messages/med...

It was an honor to host Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and CEO @goolsbee.bsky.social last night at our Q1 board meeting, where he engaged in a Q&A with our board member Liz Buchanan of NielsenIQ. Thank you, President Goolsbee, for sharing your insights and time with our board!

This morning, the @chicagofed introduced new labor market indicators that combine private sector data with official labor statistics to provide a real-time view of hiring, layoffs and other job separations, and an early forecast of the unemployment rate. www.chicagofed.org/research/dat....

Lollapalooza's day one of four kicks off today in Chicago's Grant Park.

The face of an old woman who has her first novel being published in the spring

An increase in certain orders helped fuel a “curious surge” of productivity in US restaurants, according to Chicago Booth’s @goolsbee.bsky.social & Chad Syverson, NYU PhD student Rebecca Goldgof, and Booth research professional Joe Tatarka. www.chicagobooth.edu/review/is-yo... #econsky

a few weeks ago I gave birth to this tiny human & became a mum. it’s been the most transformative & transcendental thing. also, physically tough with a challenging birth & lots of hospital trips since. mums are so badass. midwives are heroes. expect slow replies (& everything else) for a while 🐌💕

Department chair: “Professor Bergstresser, we promised the seminar speaker 15 minutes uninterrupted time at the outset”

Exciting news from my corner of the stacks: I’m now the American history books columnist at the New York Times.

The JPE thanks outgoing editor Lance Lochner for his distinguished service to the journal and looks forward to welcoming Christopher Walters to the editorial team in August. @chicagojournals.bsky.social #econsky

Calling all data dogs: Vivian Tu, founder and CEO of @yourrichbff2.bsky.social, Jon Clifton, @Gallup.bsky.social CEO and I will have an @aspenideas.bsky.social at 12 p.m. CT today about signals vs. noise in economic data www.chicagofed.org/publications...

In Milwaukee this week, we heard from Molson Coors about economic conditions and what's happening across supply chains. Conversations like this one help us understand the economy in real-time.

Miss you Dad

Faced with tariff uncertainty, policymakers like Chicago Fed's Austan Goolsbee are turning more to visits and interviews with business owners to inform their decisions

I am a big fan of the Michigan Survey and asking people about the expectations more generally ... but my @opinion.bloomberg.com piece today comes down as the being *very* skeptical of the rise in longer-run inflation expectations. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

An irrefutable thing about sports is fans will largely support anything—good or bad—if wins come with it. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

“Fifty years from now, you will want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right, in every part of your life. At the end of the day, your integrity is all you have.” Jay Powell www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

Being an honest public servant will always be a rewarding choice, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech at a pre-graduation ceremony at Princeton University amid months of unrelenting personal attacks from President Donald Trump.

Caleb Williams was phenomenal in week 12 vs a very tricky Vikings defense. Played fast, was accurate and decisive in structure, and sprinkled in a little extended magic 👇

U.S. restaurant productivity rose 15% during COVID, driven by take-out customers spending 10 min. or less inside, according to mobile phone tracking data. 🍔📲 Research by @goolsbee.bsky.social, Chad Syverson (@chicagobooth.bsky.social), Rebecca Goldgof, & Joe Tatarka here: ow.ly/3E1750VVQwe #EconSky

It’s not just Newark: Nearly all air traffic control facilities in the U.S. are understaffed.

Robert “Ed” Smylie, the NASA official who saved the Apollo 13 crew in 1970, has died at 95. He cobbled together an apparatus made of cardboard, plastic bags and duct tape after an explosion crippled the spacecraft as it sped toward the moon. nyti.ms/3Sbusb3

7th District’s first Pope @chicagofed.bsky.social

Join us for Fed Listens tomorrow, May 9. Fed Listens is part of the Federal Reserve’s 2025 framework review, which focuses on monetary policy strategy, tools and communications. Watch live: www.chicagofed.org/events/2025/... x.com/messages/med...

May the 4th be with us, now more than ever.

@normornstein.bsky.social's beautiful and important remembrance of Paul Volcker. contrarian.substack.com/p/rememberin...

Happy Saturday!

Ugh. She was a great scholar and a lovely person. We will miss her good sense.

CALL FOR PAPERS🚨! The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago will be hosting the inaugural meeting of the Annual Conference on Municipal Bond Markets on October 3-4, 2025. We invite submissions of unpublished and highly policy-relevant papers on the muni market. (1/4)

The worst kind of journal referee is the one that feels like they always need to write a certain amount The better your article gets the more persnickety they become It's OK to like something!