Alan Ruskin Fed Quotations

My concern is that what's happened here is that inflation is higher than the Fed anticipated. On top of that, the kind of tightening already imposed by the markets, in terms of lower equities and higher bond yields, is setting up weaker growth in 2005.

My gut says the Fed doesn't have too many bullets left to fire, and therefore they have to use them sparingly, and we'll see a (quarter percentage point) cut at the next meeting.

While the data is clearly dollar positive, I would expect that the market will quickly shift back to the attention it is giving to Fed policy.

The data will keep the Fed on edge and provides fodder for the Fed hawks.

The data will certainly encourage views of a truncated Fed tightening cycle.

The data should tend to encourage views that the Fed is correct and that inflation looks to be contained.

We're trying to feel out where's the peak in the Fed funds rate. The data has tended to work in the direction of a weaker dollar.

As outgoing Fed chairman, he's clearly concerned about the asset cycle and the prospect the low concern on credit risk is going to be associated with a decline in asset prices down the track,

There was always going to be some shock value when the Fed changed 'the considerable period' statement, but we had always felt that the change would come when it was fairly obvious that it should, and when the Fed had softened the blow, by alerting the market to such a change, ... As it was, there was no such warning, and the sharp market reaction is testimony to just how far it caught asset markets 'off-side.'

The Fed Chairman would be very happy if the bond market did some of the tightening for him,