To: Tony Viola who wrote (103943 ) 6/4/2000 6:37:00 PM From: Felix Appolonia Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 186894
Tony, a friendly Fed means another big move up for Intel. Felix Article from Bloomberg Top Financial News Sun, 04 Jun 2000, 6:33pm EDT PPI Will Probably Help Keep Fed on Hold: U.S. Economy Preview By Vincent Del Giudice and Alex Tanzi Washington, June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Price statistics being released this week will probably show inflation is tame, giving more reason for the Federal Reserve to skip a June increase in interest rates, analysts said. The producer price index, which tracks prices paid to factories, farmers and other suppliers of goods, is likely to have risen 0.2 percent in May after falling 0.3 percent during April, according to analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. The Labor Department will release the report Friday. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, probably rose 0.1 percent in May, same as it did in April, analysts said. Fed policymakers ``have the opportunity to sit back and wait,'' said Joel L. Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc. in Holland, Pennsylvania. Unemployment rose to 4.1 percent in May and growth in manufacturing cooled, according to private and government figures released last week. The Fed's policy panel -- the Federal Open Market Committee -- next meets June 28. The central bank has raised the overnight bank lending rate six times over the past 11 months to keep inflation in check. Worker productivity probably grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter, analysts said, predicting no change in the Labor Department's initial estimate last month. The revised numbers are to be released Tuesday. While down from the 3.7 percent gain for all of 1999, the rate is ``still respectable,'' said Robert T. Parry, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in a speech last week. Unit labor costs, meantime, probably rose at 1.8 percent rate, also the same as the previous report, analysts said. Another Labor Department report, set for release Thursday, will probably show import prices increased 0.8 percent in May after falling 1.6 percent during April, analysts said. The Federal Reserve will probably report growth in consumer borrowing slowed in April, rising $7.5 billion for the month after climbing $9.1 billion during March, analysts said. The Fed will release that report Wednesday. Also on the agenda, inventories at U.S. wholesalers probably increased 0.5 percent in April after rising 0.7 percent during March, analysts said. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the statistics Tuesday. Bloomberg Survey