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,

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...

This is a very strong report. The economy clearly is growing too strong and it’s not going to stop on a dime, which is not very convenient to suit the Fed’s needs and to meet...

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.

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...

He’s treading on very thin ice. When the Fed chairman says that the stock market is very expensive, the average investors is not going to be pleased.

The market seems to have been greatly relieved by the employment report.

There is this simplistic notion around that because the yield curve is inverted, therefore, economic growth is going to slow down, but … no consideration is given as to why the economy would slow down.

As long as the productivity numbers are very good, the higher wage gains can be offset by higher productivity gains,

The Fed is not going to be troubled by a small miss (in the CPI). I don’t think it’s that big an issue. They’re concerned that a falling stock market could hurt consumers sufficiently to...

As productivity slows, wage costs tend to rise — one has an inverse relation to the other.

But I think the underlying trend in terms of consumer spending and overall economic spending is actually up.

That’s actually good news,

These numbers are outstanding, … Inflation still remains very well behaved.

We continue to see very rapid economic growth which has been a problem for the Fed all along. We have not seen a material increase in labor costs and that’s what I think is going...

That’s actually good news. It means we’re carrying less inventory and the production process is adjusting.

I think we have a recovery under way, … At this stage of the recovery, the data are often mixed.

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...

That’s the time when a big number is most likely, mainly when we’re coming out of a recession. At this stage of the business cycle, to be getting a 5 percent growth rate in productivity...

[Analysts and economists remained uncertain whether Greenspan’s latest comments would do more than puzzle investors.] He’s treading on very thin ice, … When the Fed chairman says that the stock market is very expensive, the...

I think part of what has driven the market today are fluctuations in oil and interest rates and the bond market.

When a doctor administers medicine, he or she makes a judgment about the appropriate dosage in advance. The Fed has to make that judgment, but there’s a chance they’ve already given out the right dosage...

Everyone’s waiting to hear what he has to say.

The economy is still growing above trend as evident by erosion of the unemployment rate and the low level of unemployment claims.

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...

The economy is doing a lot better than people recognize and therefore, the Fed may have to hike rates more than they expect. The equity market is fighting the Fed.

This is a very strong report, … The economy clearly is growing too strong and it’s not going to stop on a dime, which is not very convenient to suit the Fed’s needs and to...

I suspect that interest rates must increase considerably more than is currently expected or has been built into forward markets.

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...

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...

I think there’s been a slowdown in economic activity, but I don’t think it’s been an adequate slowdown and I suspect it might be temporary, … There isn’t a lot of evidence yet to indicate...

Fundamentally, the economy has not slowed as investors had hoped or the Fed requires. It puts a tightening in August back on the table.

If Japan melts down, it hurts U.S. exports and hurts jobs in the United States,

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...

These kinds of numbers are wonderful,

Had this number been very high, the markets would have been quite confident the Fed would raise rates. The real question is whether they are going to pull the trigger on interest rates again, and...

We have a reasonably bullish view on the US economy in the sense that we think the fourth quarter will be fairly good, … The fact that inventory accumulation was less than anticipated in the...

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.

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...

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.

There will be just too much risk of geopolitical shocks in 2006 for oil prices to fall sharply and insufficient inventory to really take the props out from underneath oil prices.

Few Fed officials would be willing to prejudge the question, even if they have a personal judgment of how they expect the economy to perform. Rather, they’d prefer to wait for the data to inform...

The fact that claims are low is very comforting.

Unemployment is sufficiently high, and the economy has just come out of a relatively mild recession, so inflation pressures are relatively soft right now. It will take a while of solid growth before we have...