Diane Swonk
Diane Swonk
adds economic feels paper people sharing
It adds up on paper to look a lot better than what it feels to people, ... not as many people are sharing in the economic gains.
beyond deadline december encourage event flight major moment point radar seems
I think it does encourage flight to quality, temporarily, but actually I think once we get beyond this point, there is a deadline here, ... December 12th is a deadline out there looming not very long away, and I think that once we get beyond that point we really will see this as little more than a blip in the radar screen, as much as it seems like a major event in the moment for the markets. But it's not part of the fundamental economy.
almost economy fed higher looking rates
It confirms that the Fed is almost done. Those looking for higher rates are not looking at the economy the same way as the Fed.
christmas far market seen tired
I think the market is tired of Christmas. We've already seen the Christmas reports. As far as the market is concerned, that's old news.
burned careful political slam
(Bush) has got to be even more careful today. He has burned through a lot of political capital. He's got to put someone in who is going to be a slam dunk.
economic faced kinds rule thrown
He has faced many different kinds of economic environments. He has thrown away any kind of rule of thumb.
bring build consensus evolution inflation policy smooth
He'd like to bring in inflation targeting. (But) he must build consensus to do so and he doesn't have consensus now. I think he's going to make a smooth transition, but it's going to be an evolution in policy change.
I don't think we're gong to get any more at all.
bit burden carry economy feet keeping kick
kick back, put up his feet for a bit and not have to carry the burden of keeping the economy going alone.
activity bit confidence consumer february grain january numbers partial quite recovery strong
I think you have to take the January numbers with a bit of a grain of salt. Consumer confidence is still quite strong and I think we'll see at least a partial recovery in activity in February and through the spring.
abundant broad brought consumers early extremely finally holiday left less means ordered overly promotions retailers seen shelves
Retailers ordered extremely conservatively for the holiday season. The shelves aren't overly abundant with goods, and controlling inventories has finally made it into broad retailers, not just Wal-Mart. That's important because it means a lot of the early promotions we've seen have brought the consumers in, but has left less on the shelves with less selection.
absorb blows economy fed labor market strong
Like what the Fed has suggested, the U.S. economy was more than strong enough to absorb the blows of Katrina. The labor market is still pretty resilient.
people stop sudden
Steakhouses all of a sudden don't look so good, but people don't stop eating,
boost companies competition customer innovate inward mean means order profits turn
That doesn't mean that competition is getting any less. It just means that companies have to turn inward to innovate in order to boost profits and customer satisfaction,