To: Daniel Joo who wrote (13255 ) 5/7/1999 9:32:00 PM From: Mao II Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 99985
Daniel, FYI. M2 Fed's McTeer: No Concerns, Long-Term or Short, on Inflation By Mark Calvey and John D. Boyd, Bridge News San Francisco-May 7--Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert McTeer, a 1999 voter on US monetary policy, today strongly reiterated his positive views about the economic outlook, saying he sees "nothing out there" to derail the US economy and emphasized he has no significant long- or even short-run concerns about inflation risks. McTeer was here to address the annual meeting of the Louisiana Bankers Association. He has long been a consistent advocate of the view that the US economy is in a more efficient period than past expansions, which permits stronger growth with lower inflation. McTeer's remarks today were very similar to those he gave earlier this week in Laredo, Texas, but are significant for their timing. On Thursday, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan in Chicago had both applauded the economy's performance and warned that it was vulnerable to an inflation pickup, if either the labor market tightened further or the strong productivity pace of recent years begins to abate. Greenspan's remarks were taken as hawkish by the bond market, which feared they might set the stage for the Fed to adopt as early as its May 18 meeting a bias toward tightening policy in the future. However, this morning's jobs report reversed much of that concern, as the jobless rate edged up and hourly earnings rose less than expected. McTeer, though, made it clear he thinks the US economy is now on the track it should be on. He praised its strong growth, de-emphasized inflation threats and cautioned that key global partners such as Europe and Japan remain weak. While he acknowledged the concern over potential constraints from tight US labor markets, McTeer also reiterated his view that the US can remove structural impediments to labor force growth by allowing more highly skilled immigrants into the US and by allowing recipients of Social Security retirement benefits to work without suffering penalties.