The manufacturing expansion is running out of gas,

The economy will expand by 3 percent from here on out, and we will have growth in jobs of about 100,000 to 200,000 per month, and that’s it. Get used to it.

The economic numbers were nothing less than sweet. The markets were skittish about escalating energy prices, and that never seemed to recede, even though the economy ignored that and ran.

When you put all these little pieces together, you get a bigger drag, and that’s what’s taking the toll. It’s the culmination of all these little things.

If you look at economic data we’ve received since the beginning of the year, it’s been definitively lower than consensus expectations in most cases.

Torrid economic growth normally results in torrid job growth. And that will probably flash red for Fed-watchers.

That (pulling back on lending) is a lot of what you’re seeing now. Then you exacerbate the situation by having skyrocketing energy and health care costs, and you start to see why businesses may not...

If anything is going to trigger an increase in prices down the road, it’s $65 a barrel oil.

forecasting on hopes, rather than what the data says.

It’s Big Ben vs. Gentle Ben.

It’s more important what investors believe, because those people are willing to put their money on the line like that.

It’ll be onward and upward for the Fed’s tightening cycle,

It appears as if every company doing business in the Southeast will jump on the Hurricane Frances, Charley and Tropical Storm Gaston bandwagons for their weaker third-quarter performance.

History tells us that the Fed has always overshot its tightening goal — central bankers like to know the cork is firmly implanted in the bottle so that the inflation genie doesn’t sneak out. The...

You can’t deny it was impressive and desirable. But at the same time you have to throw in unsustainable.

I think the tide is turning in favor of the employee or job seeker versus the company.

I don’t necessarily think it’ll be a knockout punch, but it’ll deliver a blow to economic growth in 2005.

Constraints in labor markets generally result in higher inflation, which would be met by a prolonged rate-hiking campaign by the Fed.

What you’re seeing now is a robust economy carrying a great deal of momentum into the second quarter.