2006 could take a lot of economists by surprise. The market is priced for the fed funds rate to top out at 4.50%, but if there is still a lot of easy money in the market, the Fed will have to keep on tightening. |
A significant part of demand right now is based on speculation that something is going to happen in the future or near future to make supplies much more scarce. |
Essentially, he's saying that they may pause around 5 percent after the May meeting. |
Everything changed after 9-11. There is a panic premium in prices today, driven by perceptions that supply and production are centered in countries that could fall into political turmoil. |
Gold prices are rising against almost every major currency, ... So the run up in gold prices here has not affected the dollar to the benefit of other currencies. |
I think he's basically greasing the skids for the Fed to keep raising rates, and that may not be something the stock market has realized yet, ... and that's why you're not seeing much reaction. |
I thought the jobs report was more robust than the headline number would suggest, with the June and July upward revisions to payrolls countering the August miss. |
If we get anywhere close to the forecast, its going to be negative for bonds, cause that market has depended on a miss on payrolls in recent months. |
If you look at the data, we are seeing a subtle, upward pressure on core inflation. |
Inflation has boxed the Fed in, they are going to have to keep moving rates up. |
It doesn't look like what happened with GDP in the fourth quarter is a harbinger of the future. |
It was a great report, although one month does not a trend make. |
Overall, the retail sales report was a strong suggestion that the economy remains robust, particularly when you take out the autos component, ... It suggests that we're going to see a good read on GDP growth, even with the higher oil prices. |
Overall, the retail sales report was a strong suggestion that the economy remains robust, particularly when you take out the autos component. It suggests that we're going to see a good read on GDP growth, even with the higher oil prices. |
Such action could create a sharp upward move in inflation expectations, additional upward pressure on precious metals prices and renewed downward pressure on the dollar, ... If that were to happen, the Fed likely would have to drive rates up much more in the future, which could be disruptive to financial markets. |