Barry Ritholtz Economic Quotations

Most of the time, economic data is fairly benign. I don't wish to imply it is meaningless, but it is not a driver of stock markets. Indeed, the correlation between economic noise and how equity markets perform has been wildly overemphasized.

TV producers want ratings and are willing to do nearly anything to get them. They gin up artificial conflicts and create an urgency for even the most minor of economic data points.

Truth be told, most financial television bores me. Two or more people discussing the latest economic trends or hot stocks is not especially entertaining.

There is a lot of economic news to digest between now and the next meeting. If we see economic signs that are positive, then that would encourage the Fed to stay on the course of gradual rate hikes, but if things slow down then maybe they would skip a meeting or two.

The Fed doesn't have to jack up rates really quickly since other economic indicators are softening. Capital expenditures are modest and employment figures are anemic, so the biggest danger the Fed faces is smothering the recovery.

You can't fight the bond market. There's only so much the Fed can do. If investors are more concerned about economic growth slowing down in the future than inflation, they will flock to bonds.

The market never met a tax cut it didn't like and it would not be happy with a complete roll back, ... but if the economic recovery seems to be full-throated, the market might be willing to accept the rolling back of select tax cuts as a means of reducing the deficit, making John Edwards and John Kerry more appealing.