Interview  |  JUN 2001

Interview: Carol Osler by John Sweeney

Interview: Carol Osler by John Sweeney Hidden away in the Federal Reserve System are entire departments of economists researching nearly every aspect of US business. In late 2000, we picked up hints of an economist who had actually taken on the definition and measurement of the concepts of technical analysis. Some sleuthing brought up Carol Osler’s name. Osler is a senior economist in the Capital Markets Research Function of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Her major interest is in explaining short-run exchange rate movements. In particular, she has focused on technical trading strategies, largely because they are used so widely in the market even though they fail to fit standard academic models. She has also researched banking, corporate finance, equity prices, and the influence of speculative bubbles on real investment. Osler received her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and her doctorate from Princeton University. Prior to joining the New York Fed, she taught at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. After coming to New York, she also taught in the Columbia University Economics Department for a number of years. STOCKS & COMMODITIES Interim Editor John Sweeney caught up with Osler on March 19, 2001, to explore her work in quantifying some of technical trading’s hoariest maxims: support and resistance levels. And there was more.

by John Sweeney