are these estimates? natural rate estimates have always been uncertain, and may be even more so now as inflation has become less responsive to the unemployment rate. 7 the anchoring of expectations is a welcome development and other changes in the workforce since the late 1960s seem less likely to have much affected the natural rate of unemployment. there are many more women in the workforce now, but while women used to have higher unemployment rates than men, that is no longer the case. and while younger workers tend to have less stable employment patterns and higher unemployment rates than older workers, the working population is, on net, only a little bit older now than it was in the late 1960s. ( the average age of people in the workforce declined through the 1970s as more of the baby - boom generation entered their working years, but it increased subsequently. ) for evidence on the changing effects of labor market utilization on inflation, internationally as well as in the united states, see olivier blanchard, eugenio cerutti, and lawrence summers ( 2015 ), “ inflation and activity - - two explorations and their monetary policy implications, ” in inflation and unemployment in europe, proceedings of the 2015 ecb forum on central banking ( sintra, portugal : european central bank ), pp. 25 - 46, www. ecb. europa. eu / pub / pdf / other / ecbforumoncentralbanking2015en. pdf. regarding uncertainty about estimates of the natural rate, a classic reference is douglas staiger, james h. stock, and mark w. watson ( 1997 ), “ how precise are estimates of the natural rate of unemployment? ” in christina d. romer and - 5has likely played a role in flattening the phillips curve. but a flatter phillips curve makes it harder to assess whether movements in inflation reflect the cyclical position of the economy or other influences. second, what would be the consequences for inflation if unemployment were to run well below the natural rate for an extended period? the flat phillips curve suggests that the implications for inflation might not be large, although a very tight labor market could lead to larger, nonlinear effects. research on this question is ambiguous, again reflecting the limited historical experience. 8 we should also remember that where inflation expectations are well anchored, it is likely because central banks have kept inflation under control. if central banks were instead to try to exploit the nonresponsiveness of inflation to low unemployment and push resource utilization significantly and persistently past sustainable levels

and the current holder ’ s ownership is verified. if there is no controversy concerning ownership of the note, but rather an inability to locate original documents, processes usually allow for foreclosure to proceed, albeit at some cost and delay. if there is some question of ownership, the investor or servicer may be required to produce evidence of ownership before a foreclosure can proceed. since matters regarding real estate titles and foreclosures are generally governed by state law, state attorneys general are undertaking a joint review of lenders and servicers focusing on the reported problems in foreclosures. in addition, numerous federal agencies have launched investigations, including the examinations in process by the federal financial regulators. the office of the comptroller of the currency, the office of thrift supervision, the federal deposit insurance corporation, and the federal reserve are conducting an in - depth review of practices at the largest mortgage servicing operations. the interagency examinations and reviews focus on foreclosure practices generally, but with an emphasis on the internal control breakdowns that led to inaccurate affidavits and other questionable legal documents being used in the foreclosure process. the agencies are reviewing firms ’ policies, procedures, and internal controls, including sampling loan files. we have also solicited the views of consumer organizations to help detect problems at specific servicers. the agencies expect the initial on - site portion of our work to be completed by the end of the year. the agencies plan to publish a summary overview in early 2011 that will describe the range of industry practices found in the examinations and identify weaknesses requiring remediation. the federal reserve has supervisory and regulatory authority for bank holding companies and their nonbank subsidiaries, as well as for approximately 800 state - chartered banks that are members of the federal reserve system ( state member banks ), and certain other financial institutions and activities. we work with other federal and state supervisory authorities to ensure the safety and soundness of the banking industry, foster the stability of the financial system, and provide for fair and equitable treatment of consumers in their financial transactions. the federal reserve is engaged in both regulation, which involves establishing the rules within which banking organizations must operate, and supervision, which involves reviewing the efforts of banking organizations to abide by those rules and remain, overall, in safe and sound condition. the federal reserve serves as the primary federal regulator for two of the 10 largest servicers affiliated with banking organizations, one a holding company affiliate and the other