If the economy slows down, more hikes would not be necessary. But right now, there should be an assumption that the Fed would push rates toward 5 percent. |
Inflation has been very soft for a number of years, and there's absolutely no reason to believe that's going to change any time in the near future. |
Inflation, on the surface, does not appear to be a concern, but it's obvious that prices for some items are rising, ... It's inevitable that when people are armed with fatter paychecks and when companies are spending more to produce goods and services, prices are going to rise. |
Inflation, on the surface, does not appear to be a concern, but it's obvious that prices for some items are rising. It's inevitable that when people are armed with fatter paychecks and when companies are spending more to produce goods and services, prices are going to rise. |
Investors worried this morning when the oil inventory report was released, but the market is taking a second look and interpreting the data more carefully now. |
It is very difficult to explain sometimes why it is important to keep things in moderation, why it is crucial for the Fed to be vigilant against inflation. What people have to remember is that the economy cannot grow in excess forever without causing problems, without stirring inflation and other issues. |
It wouldn't be surprising if there was a little bit of a pullback in consumer spending in the first quarter as well because of the zero-percent financing in the fourth quarter, which makes for a very difficult comparison. |
It's a very confused report (and) the message is still ambiguous. This could be the beginning of something substantial, but it's hard to accept a number like that at face value. We'll need more numbers to digest. |
No doubt housing activity was elevated over the winter because of very, very mild weather. One housing start in Syracuse, N.Y., in December is an awful lot. So we shouldn't be surprised by a big fall-off. |
Non-professional investors tend to buy these well known companies because of their familiarity, yet such stocks are often overpriced. In this case, paying more for the brand may not provide an investment with a satisfactory return. |
Overwhelmingly, I think the stock market is taking the view that the economy is doing well despite the rise in interest rates, and they clearly don't think that however much interest rates go up, that it is going to impair growth, or impair profitability. |
People will be coming back from vacation and need to catch up with whatever's going on and they're going to be doing that right in front of the economic report on Friday, so none of that suggests that there should be any urgency to doing anything. |
Some day I wouldn't be surprised if we go back and take a look at this whole episode and really question whether or not we really had a recession, |
That's actually good news, |
That's actually good news. It means we're carrying less inventory and the production process is adjusting. |