It is gradual step towards a little more flexibility. Inflation, the economy and the markets will dictate how much further they go. They say the economy is strong and that inflation risks are tilted a little to the upside. There is nothing yet in the data that will stop the Fed. |
It suggests moderate growth in the year ahead, but I don't think there's much risk of a 'double-dip' recession. |
It's much too early for the Fed to be thinking about hiking interest rates. It would be a very dangerous action on their part in this fragile initial stage of the recovery. |
It's not a question of a sudden explosion in prices. It's more an erosion of the low-inflation psychology. |
It's not as friendly as some of the other inflation numbers, but it's just one indicator. We have no inflation warning signals from any of the other major inflation indicators. |
It's the toughest weight class in the state, by far. Everyone here is so tough. There are just some studs in this weight class, so it's going to be the best man who comes through with the title. |
It's true there's been a shift of income distribution, with a lot of income gains accruing to upper income individuals. The labor market is paying a bigger and bigger premium for being well educated, ... At the other end of the distribution, if you look at Joe Six-Pack, you've seen a big decline in big paying, low skill jobs in manufacturing. |
It's very likely consumer spending will slow down significantly in coming months. |
More and more of the job losses are in industries that are effectively closing down domestically. This has been a gradual process since the 1950s, but it seems to have accelerated. |
My rule of thumb is to look at both the household and payroll surveys together, giving three-quarters weight to the payroll survey and one quarter to the household survey. |
Net net, we think the risks are tilted toward a surprisingly strong gain in [Friday's] report, |
Nobody thinks the risk of inflation is equal to the risks of recession -- all indications are on the down side. The only way to rationalize this is that [Fed Chairman] Alan Greenspan wanted a half-point cut, and to get a unanimous decision, he had to go to a neutral statement. |
Now the tough decisions arrive. |
Now you are entering a much more uncertain period. |
Obviously we have a pretty weak economy and this was not unexpected. We knew they were going to have to revise it downward. |