Steven Wood Evidence Quotations

Some of the December strength and January weakness appears to be related to Y2K precautions; the (Federal Open Market Committee) will need a lot more evidence of a slowdown in consumer spending than this to convince them that further tightening is not warranted,

There is clear and strong evidence that the factory sector is expanding solidly,

These data add to the growing evidence that economic activity has slowed and that any re-acceleration is likely to be short-lived.

These data provide additional evidence that a soft-landing scenario is beginning to unfold, much to the (Federal Open Market Committee's) delight.

It's unclear whether the declines are related to year-end concerns or to a more general softening in manufacturing activity, but they do add evidence to the (Fed's) forecast for slower growth going forward.