I think the report was quite strong and will ultimately be positive for stocks. |
I thought it was a very favorable number for both Wall Street and Main Street, particularly paired with the upward revisions to the previous two months. |
If we hadn't had Katrina we'd be saying what a bad hurricane (Rita) was, but in the aftermath of Katrina we're saying, 'Boy, aren't we lucky,' |
If you take into account the revisions, the average for the last three months are still very strong. It's consistent with the housing starts number. People are still active in home buying. This decline in January is probably a month dip. It's a head-fake. |
Inflation, it's been a clean sweep for July. We learned earlier this month wages were unchanged, yesterday producer prices fell again, and this morning you're right on the money, relatively benign consumer price inflation report. No problem. |
It was a good report right through. As you look through the report there is a noticeable absence of inflation on a broad basis. The numbers, if anything, are steady to lower on inflation and show that it just isn't at all a problem for the economy or the Fed. |
It's a very good report. That's good news post-hurricanes. It shows us the job market is alive and well. |
It's clear that job growth in the last three months has been as slow as it has been in quite a while. It is a picture of a somewhat slower or weaker job market. |
It's consistent with a higher first-quarter GDP. |
It's not a good sign when delinquencies rise, There are enough other positive things in the consumer sector to say this is not a signal for some significant retrenchment ... that could threaten the economy. |
Our forecasters expect the economy to shake off the effects of last year's hurricanes and surging oil prices. |
Overall, this was kind of a vanilla report. These are solid numbers, but the market had already absorbed the fact May was a good month. |
People drew some comfort in the smaller-than-expected core index, but I think the core is a bit deceptive. |
People's wages are going up, but they are not keeping up with inflation. |
Stocks and bonds rallied at first, but now have hemmed down. Stocks are coming off a superb day yesterday, so that may be a little profit taking. |