Steven Wood Quotes (113 Quotes)

This month's modest gain indicates that the sharp rebound from the post-Hurricane Katrina meltdown has been completed. The gentle slowing trend that had been in place for much of 2005 may have been halted, but it is too soon to tell with any confidence.

Labor markets are weak and getting weaker.

Although these data were better than expected, job creation is still weak.

While the auto sector appears to have corrected its inventory overhang, other sectors have not been nearly as successful, particularly high tech, ... As business sales slow, it will be even more difficult to bring inventories into line.

There is clear and strong evidence that the factory sector is expanding solidly,

Manufacturing is mired in a deep, prolonged recession.

The Committee is placing more weight on current data releases and, therefore, less weight on forecasts of economic activity and inflation. What I'm foreseeing is that the Fed is going to keep on tightening due to the economy being stronger in the first half of the year.

New claims during the survey week are broadly similar to where they have been for the last two months, when payrolls fell. Continuing claims have been ratcheting steadily higher. Labor market weakness remains.

It is our family's prayer that both of these gentlemen will become valuable members of this society.Only time will tell with Cam Hall, but we're hopeful that what he says is real.

After adjusting for the storm effects, both initial and continuing claims appear to be near their pre-hurricane levels, indicating that labor markets remain strong despite the weak October payroll employment report.

Bad economic times don't last forever and the U.S. economy is very vibrant. But at this point that is just pure forecast.

Despite this gain the outlook is still for sluggish growth over the next six months,

The trade figures are distorted by the effects of foreign re-insurance on the World Trade Center. Nevertheless, international trade is contracting.

Despite the loosening of the labor markets, income gains remain sufficient to support spending at a moderate pace.

This was the first time that the January budget has been in deficit since 1992.

Consumers still remain optimistic about the future despite having some concerns about the present. This is very typical of a business cycle turning point,

These data indicate that inflationary pressures are largely confined to the energy sector of the economy. Moreover, because inflation is a lagging indicator of overall economic activity, the recent sharp slowing of economic growth should dampen inflation over the balance of the year.

These data provide some encouraging news for the factory sector, as unwanted inventories are being worked off and shipments have bounced.

The (Fed) will continue to focus policy on reviving economic growth.

Huge swings in energy and motor vehicle prices have masked a sharp retreat in core producer inflation over the past 6 months.

With the next FOMC meeting only another week away, it is unlikely any of them will tip their hands regarding monetary policy,

With a longer-term view, layoffs have accelerated, job creation has slowed, and joblessness has increased,

These data are consistent with still-strong domestic and improving international economic activity.

Leading indicators of job creation were generally favorable.

Although mortgage rates have declined over the past three weeks, mortgage applications volumes have continued to fall. This is partially due to the flat yield curve and partially due to tighter lending standards by financial institutions.

The (Fed policy makers) will welcome this data as providing further confirmation that the slowing of economic growth in Q2 (the second quarter) has been extended into Q3,

These data are consistent with slightly better pricing power for both importers and exporters, which reflects the improvement in international economic activity, ... However, the gains are sufficiently restrained as to not cause any concerns about broader based measures of inflation.

Clearly, the best news on inflation is past. These data show that households were spending aggressively last year and that there is a great deal of spending momentum coming into 2000. The Fed needs to tighten now, and they will.

Although housing should slow modestly over the balance of the year, it is unlikely to generate the major weakness typically associated with housing during an economic downturn.

Most measures of the labor market indicate that the degree of slack is slowly disappearing.

Despite the brief moderation in consumer attitudes, consumers appear to be spending heavily still, urged on by widespread hiring and income growth.

Slack demand and intense competition are preventing companies from raising prices.

The strong historical relationship between the level of the help-wanted index and the year-on-year growth of payroll employment has broken down completely.

While a portion of this strength is due to unseasonably mild winter weather, it is obvious that higher interest rates are, so far, having little dampening impact on construction.

The recent pace of growth in the leaders suggests that economic growth should slow from its 3.6 percent over the four quarters through the third quarter of 2005.

Inventories are going to be largely neutral for economic growth in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, as businesses ramp up production to rebuild inventories, that will mean more hiring, more production and a stronger economic environment.

Housing-related activity has definitely slowed and its contributions to economic growth, both direct and indirect, will fade over the next couple of quarters.

While good gains in productivity are economically favorable, it is not a good situation when this occurs because labor input is declining more rapidly than output.

Nonetheless, while there still is forward momentum in manufacturing, it appears to be less robust than earlier in the year, ... These data add to the mosaic showing a still-strong but more slowly expanding factory sector good news for the Federal Reserve.

This will help boost overall economic growth to above 4 percent our current (third-quarter) estimate is 4.5.

These data continue to show that the housing market remains resilient in the face of rising interest rates. This resiliency will make it more difficult for the (Federal Open Market Committee) to slow the economy,

The burden of higher interest rates will weigh down the housing industry further. This, in turn, should lead to moderated residential construction and home related consumer spending on goods such as furniture, appliances, and home improvement items in coming months.

Only lower interest rates are providing any support at the moment, ... The outlook is still worrisome.

If you've had very quick home-price appreciation, you don't have to raise rents too much. But if home-price appreciation slows, landlords will have to raise rents to start to cover that negative cash flow.

Manufacturing is still mired in a deep recession. Although vehicle production has stepped up to try to maintain a low-cost financing induced sales explosion, the rest of the industrial sector is hurting badly.

Solid productivity gains are helping to restrain inflationary pressures. However, because the recent improvements are due to a dramatic reduction in work hours, they reflect the deep trouble the economy is in.

Housing activity, which has contributed significantly to economic growth over the past 2-12 years, has now passed its peak and will be largely neutral to negative over the next several quarters, ... This slowdown will be welcomed at the Federal Reserve.

Labor markets are very strong and payroll employment should rise by 200,000 or more in February. The Federal Open Market Committee will continue to raise interest rates.

Housing fundamentals are deteriorating. Mortgage rates have been flat since the beginning of the year. Job creation and income growth has slowed. Equity markets have plunged over the past year. And consumer confidence has tumbled. Moreover, mortgage applications have trailed off. All of these suggest that home sales should weaken over the next several months.

Inflation is sufficiently low and tame -- and the economic outlook is sufficiently uncertain -- to be of little concern to the Fed at present.