The bottom line is it is a very solid report, but with continued inflationary pressure building up, it will make it easy for the Fed to conclude (Tuesday's meeting) with a quarter-point increase, |
The bottom line is that Greenspan is in no way signaling that the Fed's tightening ballgame against inflation is nearly over. |
The CPI captured the center stage as it's the biggest one-month increase in 25 years, ... We certainly know why, with energy prices having skyrocketed. |
The economy is off to a strong start in 2006 and has fully rebounded from the fourth-quarter setback. |
The economy is regaining momentum and will have a very solid first half of the year. We all feel more confident than we did three months ago, when we were still wondering about the impact of the hurricanes. |
The first half of the decade has not been good for Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania in the sense of economic growth. But for this year, I believe we have turned the corner. |
The NABE panel sees the economy roaring back in early 2006 following the fourth quarter's tepid 1.1 per cent growth. |
The NABE panel sees the economy roaring back in early 2006 following the fourth quarter's tepid 1.1 percent growth. |
The report is stronger than appears on the surface. Unlike other parts of the economy, manufacturing activity moved up, so I would say in general this is a pretty solid report. Utility output was down probably because of the relatively cool summer we had. |
The results show a stable outlook among business owners for their own sales and profits during the next six months, which suggests they are adapting to higher energy prices and interest rates. Many, however, are taking aggressive steps to counter continued increases in costs for employees' health care coverage, which could mean reductions in benefits for some employees. |
The stock and bond markets are looking at the report and seeing the signs of strength, and they know the Fed is doing the same. |
The underlying message here is that the Fed is rounding for third and heading for home plate. But they are not finished playing yet. |
There is no question that we've entered a new era. The question seems to be how long it will continue, and the jury is still out on that one. |
There will be some uncertainty in the markets building up at the end of the year. There will be some jitters. |
These are exactly the kinds of things the Fed likes too see. Signs of a slowing in housing and still-contained inflation are the kinds of numbers that speak to the Fed stopping in May, making that their last rate hike. |