Inflation Quotations | Page 6

This summer's hurricanes served as a trigger point to start slightly slower economic growth. Higher home heating costs, rising inflation and rising interest rate levels will cause some construction slowdowns.

This suggests the government saw more real growth and less inflation in the quarter.

This report will not change the Fed's view on the inflation outlook -- they will keep rates low for still some months to come.

This report is actually quite favorable for financial markets since we see very little inflation pressure while simultaneously seeing job creation inching up,

There have not been any big blips in inflation (so far this year),

There hasn't been a lot of correlation between commodity prices and inflation since 1990.

There has been real concern for the last several months about hurricanes, about consumer sentiment, about gasoline inflation hurting consumer spending,

There is a certain appeal to going to a nice round number like 5 percent. But if we get some bad inflation numbers, then they won't stop at 5 percent.

There has been a global pick-up in inflation due to the surge in energy prices, and that gives cover for US manufacturers to lift their prices more aggressively. Central banks across the globe are tightening policy in fears that the surge in energy prices will infect inflation more broadly.

We think we've seen the peak in import prices. Even if energy prices stay around current levels, inflation should start to fall.

We're not pricing in rate hikes any time soon, and today's data won't change that. Inflation is off the radar screen for policy makers.

We think that inflation will be benign and may come down from these levels.

We think the concern is well-founded, and that's not based on a prediction that inflation will be higher in the future, but we find that the impact of inflation is often underestimated in the planning process. Small numbers have a big impact over longer-term horizons.

Why has this improvement in inflation and in the business cycle occurred? I think the answer is better monetary policy, better central banking.

You have to be positive on 10-year bonds when you expect lower inflation. I don't expect the Bank of Canada to raise rates at its next meeting because inflation is low and going lower.

This year should be another good one for Asia. At the same time, inflation remains subdued.

This time, we're starting with an inflation rate that's too low and heading lower, ... What that means is the Fed will sit still until such time as it sees inflation start turning up -- which might not happen until late 2004 or early 2005.

We are starting to see a perception in the market that the high oil price could have a greater impact on inflation than originally expected.

We are seeing the prices-paid component getting up there, a fairly strong number, which I think will likely heighten the Fed's concern on the inflation front,

We are seeing the long bond tell us that the Fed's decision was proper from an inflation perspective. Long-term interest rates are coming down slightly, moving from 7 percent to about 6.95 percent at the this point in time. So the market isn't worried about inflation. The market thinks the Fed's decision was right.

This will put upward pressure on both month-on-month and year-on-year inflation this month.

To the extent that the Fed has emphasized how important benign inflation expectations are in maintaining price stability, ... the June results are disturbing.

True, the fuel for faster recovery is amassing. But that prospect does not materially alter chances that inflation will also remain well anchored.

With price inflation already at a low level, substantial further disinflation would be an unwelcome development, especially to the extent it put pressure on profit margins and impeded the revival of business spending,

With all this uncertainty, should we really trust (the Fed) to be preemptive, to cut off inflation at the pass when they clearly don't know where the pass is?

While Greenspan has very well defined views on inflation targeting and asset price targeting, he took a step back and left them as issues on the table for the next chairman.

Yields will have a bias to rise as concern about an inflation bulge is reignited. A rate increase in March is almost a done deal and there's a chance for another move in May.

Yields are the main factor driving flows. The key factor supporting the dollar is expectation of higher rates and acceleration of inflation expectations.

Yields are moving higher in a response to an economy that is bouncing back. Inflation is still under control, but it's in the upper end of the Fed's comfort range.

Yields are going to continue to trend upward as the Fed keeps raising rates. The Fed believes that the risk of inflation is skewed to the upside and in order to alleviate that risk, they need to keep raising rates.

The problem is that terrific news on inflation is not what we need right now, ... We need terrific news on the demand side of the economy. The economy hasn't stabilized yet so we don't have any great need to buy stocks.

There are risks that inflation could heat up at bit and therefore the risk that the Fed might have to be a bit more vigilant than the market expects is the thing that makes me the most cautious.

We have seen ongoing momentum in domestic demand and persistently tight capacity constraints, ... We remain concerned that inflation pressures are not abating sufficiently to achieve our medium-term target.

This will get people thinking a little bit more about the inflation risks the Fed has been talking about.

The PPI number this morning was pretty scary. I think CPI of late has not been reflecting the true inflation picture and that's likely to change with next week's numbers.

The PPI number this morning was pretty scary, ... I think CPI of late has not been reflecting the true inflation picture and that's likely to change with next week's numbers.

There are a couple of things that were a little alarming from the Fed statement, one of those being that elevated energy prices may add to inflation risk and that some further policy firming may be needed.

There are inflation figures due out Thursday and Friday. The CPI and the PPI both are expected at 0.5 percent (increase), which is a very large gain, but both of those gains are expected to be driven by higher oil prices.

When you listen to Greenspan's speech, you hear a fear about the sustainability of economic growth and no inflation pressures. Guess what that spells? Lower interest rates and postponing a return to higher rates, to insure the sustainability of growth.

The presumption that inflation will naturally recede to the middle of the target band seems a courageous one. Inflation is likely to be higher than many expect over the coming year or two.

With energy prices pushing up overall inflation again, there remains the risk of pass-through into core inflation.

With consumer price inflation below the 2% target level in both December and January and clearly below the levels forecast by the Bank of England in their November quarterly inflation report, a near-term interest rate cut suddenly looks a very real possibility again.

With conditions in the US economy currently ripe for pass-through of higher wage costs to consumers, the upside ahead in wage inflation points to the prospect of higher core CPI inflation.

While it's perhaps desirable for some businesses to have a little more pricing power, the overall rate of inflation could rise at a rate that's very harmful to the economy this year.

While it is clearly premature to sound the all-clear on inflation, the October consumer prices data are largely reassuring for the Bank of England and boost hopes that inflation has peaked,

While inflation remains tame, inflationary pressures keep building. Thus, the Fed can't let its guard down.

With successive (interest) rate hikes in late 2005, inflation easing and the domestic economy in a slowdown phase, we believe the Reserve Bank will keep rates on hold over the near-term.

With sound monetary policy, the increases in import prices are offset by lower inflation for domestically produced goods and services.

We have met our inflation target this year every year since 1997.

We've now changed the valuation of the stock market quite a bit, ... If anything, the earnings estimates have been going up and stocks have been going down. The price-to-earnings ratio on forward earnings is now down to about 15 times, which is very low relative to interest rates and inflation at the present time.

We are executing better in key areas of our business, and we are also encouraged by the fact that input cost inflation trends for some items are moderating following the significant cost increases we experienced in recent quarters, ... Fiscal 2006 should be a year of solid operating profit performance as we continue to improve our packaged meats operations and make our cost structure more efficient.

Unemployment is sufficiently high, and the economy has just come out of a relatively mild recession, so inflation pressures are relatively soft right now. It will take a while of solid growth before we have upward pressure on inflation, so the Fed can be a little relaxed about it.

Unemployment at 6 percent means the Fed has just lost six full years of progress towards lower unemployment in just six quarters. With its preferred measure of core inflation at the lowest level since the 1960s, the Fed probably requires a run of monthly payroll gains of 150,000 to 200,000 before it will feel any real need to tighten.

Financial markets are feeling more confident that the Fed will not raise rates any time soon. Add to that the fact that recent economic data shows core inflation is less than the market expects, and we see mortgage rates drop once again.

Financial markets, along with households and businesses, seem to be reasonably well prepared to cope with a transition to a more neutral stance of monetary policy, ... Although many factors may affect inflation in the short-run, inflation in the long-run, it is important to remind ourselves, is a monetary phenomenon.

Expectations for lower inflation in the first half of March were confirmed toward the end of the session, helping the market maintain its upward tendency.

Expectations are that the Fed is going to do nothing and refrain from raising rates and maintain an inflation risk bias,

Expectations are one of the biggest parts of the inflation process,

Factors like low inflation and lower interest rates will continue to give consumers more spending power while government initiatives like public spending and increased social grants should also provide support.

Both survey data and the market prices of inflation-protected Treasury securities tell us that the public expects inflation to continue to be contained. I am confident that we at the Fed have the knowledge and the will to validate those expectations.

Both these numbers are about everything an investor could want to see in a morning, low inflation and good growth.

Both the earnings and the claimant count data are stronger than expected. But I think any reaction to that data will be limited until we see the tone of the Bank of England's inflation report later this morning.

Both tend to do well when inflation is up and bonds are underperforming.

The government is maintaining full vigilance on the inflationary front and will take all measures that are necessary to keep inflation under control for macro-economic stability and growth.

The good news is that what we've seen is an unchanged reading for the non-petroleum items ... so it doesn't look like we have a major inflation problem outside of oil, which is good for the Fed.

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.

The good news is that the inflation number was also revised down slightly but is still running higher than we saw a year or so ago,

We see that the inflation rate is going down, so that there is a chance that tax reform with its enormous relief in the second half of the year will begin to work,

Tuition is out-pacing inflation ridiculously. The problem is the federal government hasn't picked up the slack.

While this was obviously a good month, we don't expect this to continue. We think it's going to be a slow drift up in core inflation going forward.

While the surge in key leading indicators strengthens the case for a further rate hike in the near future, the absence of second round effects from the oil price spike and the decline in headline inflation in late 2005 argue against any haste.

While the stronger-than-expected rise in British GDP put a further dent in the prospects of an interest rate cut in February, we still expect the combination of sluggish growth and falling inflation this year to prompt a modest loosening of monetary policy.

While there is uncertainty about the economy at present we still expect the next move in interest rates will be down and that this is likely early in 2006. But while the market responded quite swiftly to the rate cut in August, we do not expect a cut to cause annual house price inflation to accelerate back up to levels seen in early 2005.

While there is no room for complacency, the Fed can take comfort in the fact that core inflation remains tame, despite some modest inflationary pressures. Global Insight predicts that the Fed is near the end of its tightening cycle.

While the record drop in the top level index spells welcome relief from the painful post-hurricane energy price spikes in September, continued pressure on the core index over the next several months will keep the Federal Reserve vigilant on the inflation watch.

While the price is high compared to last year, it's still low in real dollar terms compared to what it was. Adjusted for inflation this is by no means a record price.

You can no longer make the argument that there is a lot of excess capacity out there. The bias on inflation is a little bit to the upside and the Fed has to be careful about that.

We've had a strong economy for four years now and no inflation, so I don't see inflation as a problem, ... The market went into the tank early today because the message was our correction just wasn't over yet and then, of course, pressure from the techs.

The public has shown confidence that any increases in inflation will be temporary and that, in the long run, inflation will remain low.

Up until recently, oil price hikes have offset disinflation. This time around, we're in a situation where inflation is starting to peek its head above the parapet, and policy makers will see it more as an inflation threat. That's problematic -- if they have to start reacting to higher inflation pressures by raising rates, that does slow the economy down.

Upside inflation risks may require that the Fed move promptly and perhaps a little more forcefully to ensure that inflation and inflation expectations stay low.

There appears to be a material deviation on apparent US dollar strength (or euro weakness) as the gold price finds strength from physical demand, inflation fears and gold as a currency.

There is nothing the Fed can do to combat inflation unless they hike rates aggressively.

The recent hawkish comments from the ECB suggest that the bank is increasingly concerned about the inflation outlook,

There is no sign of an immediate pass through of energy to core prices, but consumers spent with abandon considering their lack of confidence in the continued health of the economy. That is likely to bolster the Fed's fear of future inflation and reinvigorate their will to raise rates.

There is so much momentum in consumer spending and business investment that economic growth in the third and fourth quarters will exceed 3 1/2%. Inflation may pick up a bit, but core inflation rates start at such low rates that the overall impact won't be nearly as bad as feared.

There doesn't seem to be any evidence that inflation is accelerating. In terms of when the bank can cut interest rates, we are still looking at sometime in the second half of the year.

There could be a cyclical surprise...If we see another sharp rise in core inflation or see activity data to the upside, there's a danger that the market could be caught off balance.

We will probably see inflation holding around 2.4 percent and it is still benign. Things are generally improving in the euro zone and I don't think this story will be derailed by the PMI.

This week's focus will be the January US consumer price index, due Wednesday, as the market is awaiting the key inflation data.

This underpins our view that interest rates will have to come down again although the MPC caution on inflation suggests that's not going to happen until early next year.

What Katrina has done is shift the economic focus from inflation to growth.

We cannot rule out a situation in which a pre-emptive policy tightening may become appropriate before any sign of actual higher inflation becomes evident.

We just don't see the wage pressures and I think the bond market is so happy because that means there really isn't any threat of inflation out there. Remember all those terrible surprises we used to get on Fridays? It's about time the bond market got a good one.

Uncertainty about sales impedes business planning and could harm capital formation just as much as uncertainty about inflation can create uncertainty about relative prices and harm business planning.

You have an economy that is mending itself with absolutely no inflation pressures.

With interest rates still in extremely stimulatory territory and inflation risks tilted to the upside, the ECB looks set to hike further in the first half of 2006.

With inflation under control it will be easier for the Fed to signal its intention to stop raising interest rates soon. Treasuries still have room to go higher.

With inflation trending up, we believe the Fed will want to stay on the tight side of neutral for an extended period.

With inflation slowing, the focus now is to keep rates steady for growth.