I really don't read a lot into [the dissent]; it doesn't mean that's the direction policy is going to head. Some people interpret the risks differently than others, and that's what's happened this time. |
I think it's good news for the economy. When you take away the GM strike and average last month's figures with this month's, you see employment growth at moderate levels, which is good for sustainable growth. |
I think the headline number is a bit misleading. It doesn't suggest that the economy is in trouble. Consumer durables production is looking solid, so it's looking like there's still going to be strong first quarter GDP growth. |
I think we're close to a peak in the unemployment rate, ... The upswings in manufacturing and non-manufacturing show we're close to it now. |
I think we're close to a peak in the unemployment rate. The upswings in manufacturing and non-manufacturing show we're close to it now. |
I think what he's concerned about is that the economy is on a good, healthy trajectory and if we do see some upward pressure on inflation somewhere down the road that that could cause the economy to heat up a bit. |
I wouldn't disagree with some of the things he said, but I don't know why he said those particular things at this time. |
If sales can be sustained at this level, that would help support housing construction, but inventory of new homes is still increasing. The housing market is cooling off, but not dropping sharply. |
If unemployment continues to decline and the economy grows at an above-average pace ... I think they (the Fed) will be a little more concerned about bottlenecks. |
If we hadn't heard from Greenspan last week that the Fed is still worried about an uneven recovery, we might be more upset about these numbers. But Greenspan is concerned that these retail sales numbers could falter later on so these numbers probably won't have that great an impact. |
If we'd had a substantial decline in the dollar against the Chinese currency we'd have probably seen a substantial rise in the price of some of the items that we buy from China. |
If you look at the 12-month change in producer prices, it's positive 0.9 percent, ... As recently as May, the 12-month change was negative 2.8 percent -- so there were a lot more deflationary pressures earlier in year, and those seem to be abating. |
If you look at the 12-month change in producer prices, it's positive 0.9 percent. As recently as May, the 12-month change was negative 2.8 percent -- so there were a lot more deflationary pressures earlier in year, and those seem to be abating. |
If you look back at the'70s and'80s, the Fed was perceived to be the man behind the curtains. Today, it's looked at as a more prominent player. I'd say (Greenspan's) better known than members of the Supreme Court, and that wasn't true of his predecessors. |
If you put the two months together it still looks as if retail sales were strong at the beginning of the year -- an average increase of 0.8 percent for each of the two months. |