Kevin Flanagan Continue Quotations

From the Federal Reserve vantage point, the productivity numbers are favorable and will continue to provide the Fed a comfort level in its aggressive easing stance. There's no mistaking we're closer to the end of that cycle, but numbers like this will help to alleviate these anxieties.

I think you're seeing an enthusiastic response by the bond market because there appears to be a slight deceleration in economic activity. In order to continue to improve we'll need to see further signs of that slowdown.

We continue to see difficulties for the nation's factories,

We continue to see difficulties for the nation's factories. This is a figure that continues to argue for the Fed to (cut a half-percentage point Tuesday).

We're 11 months through the year and any measure of core inflation hasn't captured a filtering down of higher commodity or energy prices. That's why we continue to see the 10-year yield under 4.5 percent.

The sentiment is not as enthusiastic as it was early this week. Investors are starting to realize that if the (economic) numbers continue to come in on the strong side, the Fed is going to tighten (credit) again.