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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed

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To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (24919)10/5/2000 2:24:41 PM
From: LLCF  Read Replies (3) of 436258
 
Just noticed this... probably been posted already... I didn't realize McTeer's middle name was 'hedonic'.
Wednesday October 4 1:46 PM ET
Fed's McTeer Hails Productivity Gains

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sharp productivity gains over recent years
have enabled the U.S. economy to grow at annual rates of 4 percent or more
without risking rising inflation, Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer said on
Wednesday.

``The productivity increase...raises the so-called noninflationary speed limit of
the economy from 2 to 2.5 percent to 4 percent, or more,'' he told the
National Association of Manufacturers in a speech.

McTeer has long been one of the most outspoken proponents inside the Fed
of the theory that rising efficiency gains in the U.S. economy have pushed up
its growth potential while keeping a lid on inflation.

Productivity outside the U.S. farm sector -- measured as output per hour --
has been growing at annual rates of over 5 percent in recent months.

McTeer said he was unsure how much of those gains were caused by
fundamental, or structural, changes in the economy rather than by a mere
cyclical improvement. But he added: ``I vote for structural. How could it be
cyclical when there's been no cycle?''

McTeer, who is not a voting member of the U.S. central bank's rate-setting
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year, said he had ``no
comment'' on the outcome of Tuesday's FOMC meeting.

The FOMC left key short-term interest rates unchanged but warned of
continued inflation risks because of rising energy prices and the nation's tight
labor market.

Fed officials usually adhere to an unwritten rule barring them from
commenting directly on Fed policy a week before and after FOMC meetings.

On the topic of labor markets, McTeer said a higher economic speed limit
meant the economy could tolerate lower unemployment rates than those that
might previously have sparked inflation. Some Fed officials worry the
nation's current jobless rate of 4.1 percent could stoke inflation by forcing
employers competing for workers to raise wages.

At the same time, McTeer said there were signs of slight increases in
inflation. He said inflation was ``down, not out.'' He said economists who
claimed that inflation had recently begun to creep up had ``a point,'' but he
did not elaborate.

I think he's gunning for the top job after GreenJeans.

DAK
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