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Strategies & Market Trends : The New Economy and its Winners -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (2934)	11/11/2000 10:59:12 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

Americans don't seem to be panicked: It would make sense to be panicked.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (2934)	11/11/2000 11:06:48 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

"Economic Outlook A number of economic reports emerge next week, with the big event on Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve meets to decide interest rates. While the central bank always garners attention when it meets, most participants agree the Fed will sit tight on rates this time around and will keep a watchful eye on inflation. "Interest rates are still at lofty levels and there is no sign of coming down," says Bill Hummer, portfolio manager for Wayne Hummer Investments. "Sometimes when this happens, you'll see interest rates start to decline. That is not occurring this time around. I don't think the Fed is going to do anything to ease." Economists say the recent losses in the stock market and news that several companies are lowering their sales-growth outlooks should satisfy the Fed that the economy is slowing and there is no need to tighten rates further. But inflation remains enough of a scare to quash talks of a rate cut. So the rate-policy course is steady-as-she-goes. Retail sales for October looks to be the most closely watched figure next week. The report, set for Tuesday morning, is expected to show a drop of 0.1% versus a 0.9% rise last month, according to a Briefing.com survey. A number of retailers have warned that sales are slowing, and investors are curious to see just how damaged the group is. "We watch consumers for an indication of where the economy is going," says Christopher Low, chief economist at First Tennessee Bank. "In October, sales will fall because auto sales fell back and retail sales fell. The major driving force (for the drop in consumer spending) is losses in the stock market." cnbc.com Higher interest rates have slowed earnings growth for many companies and tightened many consumers' purse strings. That could spell trouble for the critical holiday shopping season that's now only a couple of weeks away. "We expect consumption to be weak throughout the quarter," Low says. The consumer price index for October, which comes out Thursday, will also be closely watched. Economists are calling for the headline figure to rise 0.2% versus a 0.5% increase last month. The figure investors will watch more closely is the core number, which excludes volatile food and energy prices. Economists predict a 0.2% rise, compared with 0.3% last month. "