There's still a lot more inflation fear than there is inflation. There is still concern that the economy could generate inflation at some point but it still doesn't seem to be doing that. The Fed doesn't need to act more aggressively, but it doesn't mean that they won't. |
These numbers are slightly dated, but they show that the inventory liquidation period is over, and that (the) drag on the economy is probably behind us. |
These numbers look as if there's no urgent need to raise interest rates much further. |
These numbers show the economy is indeed in recession, and they leave the door open for the Fed to cut rates again. |
They're saying that some further policy firming may be needed, so it doesn't look like the Fed is seeing enough softness in the economy right now to warrant pausing. |
They're very good numbers. It's telling us the manufacturing sector of the economy is clearly in recovery. It looks like we had not only a strong March but an even better February than the government previously estimated. |
This is probably going to keep the Fed concerned about inflation. |
This is probably going to keep the Fed concerned about inflation. If the housing market is still healthy, policy-makers will probably continue to raise interest rates. |
This may help increase the inflation-fighting credibility of the Fed before we replace the chairman. |
This report leaves the door open for a rate cut. There's still uncertainty out there, and as a way to sort of offset the uncertainty, the Fed will do more than it may need to do. |
This suggests the government saw more real growth and less inflation in the quarter. |
This supports the view that first-quarter economic activity is much better than what we saw in the fourth quarter of last year. |
Today's numbers show that consumers are not very optimistic about the economy. As a result, we will see consumer spending reduced until we see some relief on energy prices. If we don't get some relief, it looks like it will be a very weak holiday season. |
Unfortunately, this is pre-Katrina data and may not reflect what we're likely to see in the next couple of months. |
We did see a big recovery in (producer) prices, but that was primarily in energy. Core prices increased only modestly and that's good news for the Fed. |