Ken Goldstein Overall Quotations

Part of the real story here is that, through July, producers were still getting more output, with fewer labor hours put in. Productivity in the third quarter is probably going to be stronger than in the second quarter, confirming the idea that, while the stock market's not in good shape, the overall economy's not that bad.

This is confirming the idea that, while the stock market's not in good shape, the overall economy's not in bad shape; it's nowhere near going into a double dip.

Overall economic momentum is no longer firing on all cylinders. And hiring intentions this summer are suggestive that companies may not increase hiring until the economy regains more solid footing.

You can't read a double dip into this, especially because so much of this is related to the stock market, rather than to the overall economy, ... The coincident index tells us where we are, which is in recovery. It's not really strong, but we're staying in it.

The overall Leading Economic Indicators began to edge down in July, suggesting the economy was losing steam this summer and would continue to slow down in the fall.

That the index is starting to turn more positive is telling us to look for a better economic outlook overall as early as spring.