Stephen Slifer Fed Quotations

I don't know what the guy is going to say tomorrow, but like everyone else I am going to be listening closely, ... I tend to think that this (CPI) number should have quieted down a lot of the sentiment about the likelihood or the need for a Fed tightening move.

If those numbers come in as expected, you can pretty much bet on a seeing a major rally in the markets. The expectations will be that, so long as wages are tame, the Fed will bide their time and leave rates alone.

The problem is not what's going on now; things are wonderful -- it's what could potentially happen in the future that the Fed and Greenspan are protecting us from. The economy is chugging along at a pace that's really exceeding the speed limit and that could cause some damage in the long run.

What it's all adding up to is an economy that's starting to show signs of slowing down. It's not happening very quickly but the earlier Fed rate increases are having an effect.

Whether the Fed is going to tighten or not is really going to be determined, I think, by the flow of data we get between now and Aug. 24,

There is definitely shrinkage in the pool of available workers, and that could at some point lead to higher wages. If the Fed is looking at that, they could decide to move.

Inflation is great. But if we're going into a slower growth period with inflation at those levels, it's going to slow down from here?I would think that consumers have more and more confidence that the Fed is doing its job.

If you have growth that really does start to slow, that will relieve the intensity that the Fed somehow has to scrunch the economy right away.

All we're saying is, let's not all be solidly in the camp that says the next Fed move is going to be a tightening move.