Stephen Stanley Clearly Quotations

January auto sales were clearly much better than expected. We are on a pace to see a month-to-month increase in the seasonally adjusted sales pace, perhaps to around 17.7 million units or so.

We know that a flood of Katrina-related claims is coming. The magnitude and the timing are uncertain, but the figures will clearly be boosted sharply very soon.

The indicators of prices ... are beginning to point more clearly toward inflation pressures.

The economy is clearly strong right now, and that's what these numbers reflect. In the short term, there's a risk people will pull back on spending, but that depends on how long gas prices stay high, and so far there's not much evidence the consumer is slowing down.

The economy is clearly advancing nicely right now and it will in our view take more than a 5% funds rate to slow it down.