Respondents indicate that materials costs are generally flat or down. Selling prices also are said to be mostly flat or down. The residential real estate market in New England is doing well. All contacts report moderate or high levels of activity, but complain about inventory shortages. Most First District contacts in the insurance industry report modest growth in sales in the first quarter of 2001, but some mention a loss of revenue as many people are pulling out of equity products.
All respondents say their employment levels are stable.
The labor market for information technology workers seems to be loosening slightly, which has also relieved wage pressure. The steps were identified at a workshop conducted by the Payments System Development Committee on June 29 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Further efforts to develop and implement technical standards for exchanging electronic or paper substitutes for checks. Follow-up discussions between the Federal Reserve and the banking industry on the business case for electronic check presentment. Discussions of new operational concepts involving electronic check presentment and check imaging and of potential ways to test the concepts.