Patrick Fearon Quotes (35 Quotes)

The fact that (core inflation) has been on a downward trend for two months is more evidence that Fed policy-makers might stop raising interest rates sooner rather than later.

The narrower trade deficit is a positive piece of news for February. However, with energy prices going up recently, you have to remember that there's a good chance that the trade deficit will widen again over the next (few) months.

The trend in general for the last several months has been in this ballpark, with initial claims being really pretty low compared with the size of the workforce and the size of the economy. So for some time, jobless claims have been and indicator that the labor market remains healthy and March payrolls probably will remain pretty healthy as well.

Whether you look at the core personal consumption expenditure index on a monthly basis or a year over year basis, the inflation trend is basically 'steady Eddie.

So despite the indicator today, the report for February might not be quite as strong as this is suggesting.

The numbers are still quite healthy, they're still well within the range you would expect in a period of high demand for labor.

Companies are reaping the benefit of enhancements in technology discovery, which has helped them increase their productivity. At the same time, there is a level of competition in the economy that is quite a bit stronger than it has been in the past.

The core PCE price index is a calming influence on the bond market. Inflation so far has far not gotten out of hand.

All kinds of indicators point to a very good report on April employment ... with jobless claims figures coming in where they are and the consumer confidence indicators ... all point to solid job creation.

It's certainly lower than expectations so in that sense it was a disappointment, but the key thing is that this is still appreciably better as a growth rate than the long-term average, which is only about 3 percent,

The good news is that this is much more moderate than we had seen in September and August and it brings the annual inflation rate down to 4.3 percent.

It was a little weaker than expected but still a pretty decent number, ... In fact, the August (housing start) figure was revised up to 2.02 million, and that's a new peak for this economic cycle.

The housing starts figure coming in down 5.6 percent was weaker than expected and seems consistent with our thesis that the housing sector is moderating. The big decline in housing permits reinforces that idea.

The service sector of the economy is still growing at a good pace and that is consistent with what we were seeing in the employment report for November.

Even though that was an 11,000 increase, you have to say claims remain relatively low and certainly in the range we would expect in a strong labor market.

Firms are trying very hard to hold onto their existing workers. Other reports are suggesting firms are also hiring new workers. All that translates into a healthy demand for labor.

Manufacturing in broad terms is enjoying a very robust period even if certain sub-industries are struggling. It's probably another piece of evidence that the Fed could potentially be raising interest rates after the May 10 monetary policy meeting.

It could mean that those people don't show up in the jobless numbers until relatively late, so it's an evolving situations in terms of understanding the impact on the labor market.

We still think that the growth rate will slow substantially in the fourth quarter, in part because the housing sector is softening which will tend to soften consumer spending as well. That is one factor that will probably help the Federal Reserve eventually conclude its monetary tightening cycle.

The ISM index shows that the service side of the economy continues to grow well and that's important because that sector makes up the large majority of the economy.

People who are unemployed are finding it relatively easier to find jobs. All around, it's a pretty good situation for the labor market.

There was decent strength across the retail sector. These numbers are consistent with an economy growing at a comfortable rate, a pace that would allow the Fed to continue to raise interest rates in a measured fashion.

There was some slacking off in the fourth quarter, but I didn't think it would affect the whole country.

Spending was up, a little weaker than expected... Nevertheless, the trend has been upward and it looks like the consumer is still in the ballgame in terms of supporting economic growth.

That would support the idea that the Fed can stop raising rates soon.

The labor market has been strengthening for a while, but it may be that people are finally starting to become believers in it.

The fact that the final number is higher than the preliminary number shows that the American consumer is not going to be easily intimidated.

The drop in jobless claims is a darn good number. A number in the range of 325,000 to 350,000 is a level that is more consistent with healthy economic growth.

It remains pretty clear that corporations are interested in holding on to their workers as the economy continues to expand.

It seems like this is a conspiracy by the gods to make us economists eat our words when we said manufacturing was back on its feet. It's certainly a disappointing number.

We're probably close to the point where there will be a take-off in investment and wage growth.

This is consistent with our view that the housing market is likely to continue to moderate in the coming months. But ... home sales are historically pretty strong.

It looks like warm weather had a big impact so the big jump in January housing starts can be attributed to that. However, the moderating trend in housing really is still in place.

We've now had three straight quarters of above-average growth, and that's nothing to sneeze at.

If the core rate doesn't get out of hand and growth comes in moderate, at some point fairly soon the Fed could decide ... to stop raising rates.