Interest rate fears? Inflation worries? My asset.Productivity Accelerating.
Voltaire:
Limping along? I take the limping along at 3-3.5% any day come to think of it.
Now get a load of this news, so much for the imbeciles' argument about overheating economy,inflation,interst rate bs etc etc.
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Worker Productivity Seen Accelerating: U.S. Economy Preview
Washington, Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. workers are becoming
more productive, a government report will show next week, which
helps explain why the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest
rates steady at its first policy session of the year this week.
Non-farm productivity -- which measures the time and effort
of providing goods and services -- probably increased at a 3.9
percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, up from the third
quarter's gain of 3.0 percent, analysts said. The Labor
Department will release the report Tuesday.
Gains in productivity are crucial to businesses if they want
to hold down prices to stay competitive and keep the U.S. economy
growing with no inflation. ''It's been one of the keys behind
this phenomenon,'' said Kevin Flanagan, an economist at Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter in New York.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan agrees. ''Improved
productivity probably explains why the American economy has done
so well,'' Greenspan told a congressional panel last month.
America's businesses ''use both domestic saving and imported
financial capital in a highly efficient manner, apparently more
efficiently than many, if not most, other major industrial
countries,'' Greenspan said.
During the final decade of the 20th century, businesses --
from manufacturing to services -- have invested in computers and
other innovations to improve efficiency and reduce costs. That
investment and innovation continues, allowing the Fed to bide its
time in adjusting interest rates.
Last Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee kept the
overnight bank lending rate at 4.75 percent, where it's been
since November -- after a series of three cuts aimed at
stabilizing financial markets.
Retail Sales Report
In other economic indicators next week, the Commerce
Department is expected to report Thursday that the pace of sales
at the nation's retailers cooled during January. Retail sales
probably climbed 0.1 percent last month following a 0.9 percent
advance in December, analysts said. Outside of autos, retail
sales probably increased 0.4 percent in January, the same as
December.
Even with the expected pause, ''consumer demand remains
impressive,'' said analysts at Standard & Poor's MMS in Belmont,
California. In 1998, for example, the consumer spending component
of the gross domestic product registered its strongest gain in 14
years. A major reason: low unemployment and rising incomes.
Also Thursday, the Labor Department is expected to publish a
report showing that first time-claims for state unemployment
benefits stayed low after falling for three consecutive weeks.
Jobless claims probably increased by 9,000 in the week ended Feb.
6 to a seasonally adjusted 303,000, analysts said.
The Commerce Department is also scheduled to publish a pair
of reports on inventories next week.
Wholesale inventories, set for release Wednesday, probably
increased 0.3 percent in December as sales advanced after rising
0.6 percent in November. And Friday, a report on total business
inventories is expected to show an increase of 0.1 percent for
December -- as sales accelerated -- following a 0.4 percent
November increase, analysts said.
Bloomberg Survey
Date Time Period Indicator BN Survey Prior
2/9 10:00 4Q Productivity 3.9% 3.0%
2/10 8:30 December Wholesale Inventories 0.3% 0.6%
2/10 8:30 December Wholesale Sales 0.4% 0.3%
2/11 8:30 2/6 Initial Jobless Claims 303K 292K
2/11 8:30 January Retail Sales 0.1% 0.9%
2/11 8:30 January Retail Sales Ex-autos 0.4% 0.4%
2/12 8:30 December Business Inventories 0.1% 0.4%
2/12 8:30 December Business Sales 0.7% 0.4%
2/12 9:00 January Atlanta Fed 2.3 3.2
Federal Reserve, Treasury
Fed chairman Greenspan testifies before the House Banking
Committee on financial services on Thursday.
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin testifies before the same
panel Friday on financial modernization. Also Friday, William
Poole, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,
addresses the Academy of Economics and Finance at the Excelsior
Hotel in Little Rock. Next Saturday, Rubin attends a meeting of
the Group of Seven leading industrial nations in Bonn.
===================
Other intersting and noteworthy news on the economy:-
.S. Dec. Consumer Credit Rises $7.3 Bln to $1.308 Tln (Repeat)
Borrowing by U.S. consumers increased at a faster pace in December, led by demand for auto and credit card loans, Federal Reserve figures showed. More...
U.S. Thrift Regulator Says 4th Qtr Mortgage Originations Rose
U.S. savings and loans' mortgage originations ''are hugely up again'' in last year's fourth quarter, top federal regulator Ellen Seidman said. More...
U.S. Dec. Consumer Credit Rises $7.3 Billion to $1.308 Trillion
Borrowing by U.S. consumers increased at a faster pace in December, led by demand for auto and credit card loans, Federal Reserve figures showed. More...
U.S. Companies' 4th-Qtr Profits Rise 2.5% as Consumers Spend
U.S. corporate fourth- quarter earnings rose about 2.5 percent, as consumer spending on software, drugs and new homes helped companies cap a seventh straight year of rising profits. More...
U.S. Economy: 245,000 New Jobs Suggests More Gains (Update1)
The U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent in January as the economy added 245,000 jobs, higher than analysts' forecasts and a sign the longest peacetime expansion will continue. More...
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