Jan Hatzius
Jan Hatzius
Jan Hatziusis the chief economist of investment bank Goldman Sachs. Notable for his bearish forecasts prior to the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, he is a two-time winner of the Lawrence R. Klein Award for the most accurate US economic forecast over the prior four years. He has also won a number of other forecasting awards, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Institutional Investor annual forecaster rankings...
cannot clear consumer continue debt disposable form grow households income lengthy maybe percent period save spending subdued sure violent
I'm not sure which form it will take -- maybe a lengthy period of subdued consumer spending or something more violent than that. But it's clear to me that households cannot continue to save 3 percent of their disposable income and grow debt at 10 percent per year.
change close either fed interest
nothing suggests that the Fed is close to a change in interest rates, in either direction.
certainly consumer numbers
The consumer numbers are certainly more important than normal.
chairman effect house prices risen severe sounds worried
The chairman now sounds notably more worried than previously that house prices have risen too much and that the downturn could have a severe effect on the U.S. economy.
basically fair quarters rate seven
You've got seven quarters in which the homeownership rate basically has done nothing. It's fair to say that it's stagnating.
housing key reason
The deterioration in housing affordability is one key reason.
december figures fourth friday gains given income likelihood low quarter reported strong
Income figures ... were surprisingly low for December given the strong gains reported for the fourth quarter on Friday and the likelihood that bonuses would have boosted December gains.