Hi Ike,..Re:.unemployment number hourly earnings on Friday will be keenly watched.
By Mr. Meyer especially, I expect! <g>
____________________________________________________________________
Meyer Comments
Fed Governor Meyer, in a speech last night, said the U.S.
central bank must raise rates once unemployment falls below a
rate at which inflation picks up. ''In my judgment, we are
already in a range in which such a normal response to further
declines in the unemployment rate is warranted,'' he said.
The Fed already raised its target for overnight bank lending
in three-quarter point moves since June. In its last action Nov.
16, the Fed boosted the rate to 5.5 percent.
''Clearly with the stuff Meyer talked about, you have to see
where we are in terms of the jobless rate and hourly earnings,''
said Mitch Stapley, who invests $3 billion in fixed-income at
Kent Funds in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ''The near-term direction
of the bond market will be predicated on the strength of those
two indicators,'' he said
quote.bloomberg.com
_____________________________________________________________________
I read his speech and it was interesting. Apparently he still likes the 5-5.25% NAIRU and we are significantly below that! <g>
bog.frb.fed.us
I expect another rate hike in Feb. but in the meantime thought that the bond market might have a reprieve via some 'safety parking' of funds to get through any possible foreign Y2K snags. Do you anticipate any buying in U.S. treasuries for parking money temporarily because of Y2K?
Best regards,
Lee
|
