It will be very interesting to see Fed's decision today, which may include them standing pat in terms of no move on interest rates, and there is chance here they will now talk about risks being balanced between recession and recovery. |
It's a lot better than 1990-91, when we started out from a lower level, ... The bottom line is, consumers are going to be just fine. There's not going to be a bubble, like when we had 3.9 percent unemployment [in April 2000]. The labor market will tighten enough again, but for the moment it's going to be more balanced. |
It's a lot better than 1990-91, when we started out from a lower level. The bottom line is, consumers are going to be just fine. There's not going to be a bubble, like when we had 3.9 percent unemployment [in April 2000]. The labor market will tighten enough again, but for the moment it's going to be more balanced. |
It's about the Fed being more communicative with the markets, ... won't just be walking into Greenspan's shoes. |
It's all part of adding certainty in a chaotic situation. |
It's all vehicle sales and gas. Chain-store sales were relatively strong during the month, suggesting consumers diverted their vehicle spending to other sectors. We also had a cold snap which prompted early spending on winter wear. |
It's hard to kill this darn consumer, isn't it? Anyone who is losing sleep over the consumer is losing sleep over the wrong thing. |
It's my guess the Fed will probably move to the sidelines until at least November, |
kick back, put up his feet for a bit and not have to carry the burden of keeping the economy going alone. |
Larry Summers is the economic conscience of Rubin. He is the economic half of that team. Rubin had market smarts and the political savvy; Larry Summers was, in many ways, the economic mastermind here. |
Like what the Fed has suggested, the U.S. economy was more than strong enough to absorb the blows of Katrina. The labor market is still pretty resilient. |
More and more retailers are feeding on a smaller consumer pie, and many are going away hungry, ... What Wall Street Wants from the Retail Industry. |
My own view is that full employment is closer to 4 to 4.5 percent -- probably closer to the 4.5 percent range. |
Not only are retailers doing more with less, like every other large corporation, and taking advantage of six fewer days in the shopping season, but they are actually hiring less this holiday shopping season, so there's fewer people on the floors actually helping consumers out. |
obviously something that (the Fed) is trying to stretch for, saying, 'Well maybe people aren't trading job security for wages anymore.' |