Americans have grown accustomed to pessimistic economic forecasts, and one delivered by the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston last week was sobering. Yet, Eric S. Rosengren’s outlook may have been too optimistic.

In 2010, Worcester surpassed Boston and Providence in violent crime.

That’s a surprising finding in The Research Bureau’s eighth “Benchmarking Public Safety in Worcester” report, released last week. Of the 10 largest New England cities, Worcester ranks fifth.

WORCESTER — The leader of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said today he favors continued efforts from the U.S. central bank to stimulate the economy and bring down unemployment.

Eric S. Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, made gloomy predictions Wednesday for a slow economic recovery through the year, calling on policy makers to do more to lower the US unemployment rate.

Worcester firefighters are slower in responding to emergencies than 10 years ago, but officials insist public safety has not been compromised.

WORCESTER — The use of outdated statistics and varying definitions of aggravated assault are just a couple of reasons Police Chief Gary J. Gemme questions the city’s violent crime ranking in a recent report by The Research Bureau.

The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston says economic growth over the next year will continue, although at a less-than-robust pace for the rest of the year.

(Reuters) - Unforeseen risks in struggling European countries have the potential to hurt the financial sector and the overall U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said on Wednesday.

WORCESTER — While the city's property crime rate has gradually declined by more than 30 percent over a 15-year period, its violent crime rate has not changed, according to a new report by The Research Bureau.

WORCESTER — There appears to be growing sentiment on the City Council that the 28-year practice of setting separate tax rates for residential and business properties needs to come to an end.