Robert Brusca
Robert Brusca
borrowing fed mistake
The Fed has never said this borrowing is a mistake and that this is a problem.
barely begun dry federal ink intent measured move says statement theme
The Federal Reserve, with the ink barely dry on its statement of intent to move in a measured pace, has begun a new theme that says 'measured' may be too slow.
economy economy-and-economics federal reserve soft spot talked
The Federal Reserve has talked about the economy being in a soft spot -- well, it's really in a soft spot.
aggressive closing effect immediate likely opportunity raise undo window
I look at this as the closing of a window of opportunity to raise rates. If they're more aggressive, they're more likely to have an immediate effect on people's psychology. If they're too aggressive, they can undo that. If they're not aggressive enough, they can't undo that.
change plans spending
I have no plans to do anything with it ? probably put it in the bank. I'm not going to change my spending habits.
business costs decide face group higher hiking hurt insurance jobs run small taxes whom worth
There's that group of small business owners, where a lot of the jobs are, for whom hiking taxes will hurt their business. They already face higher heating costs, insurance costs -- at some point, they may decide there are too many costs to run a business and decide it's not worth it any more.
greenspan line price says stability telling
This is in line with what Mr. Greenspan has been telling us, which is that we have price stability for goods. But he says he doesn't think we have price stability for services.
If you look at the Fed's own numbers,
activity based boost clear data drop fire further growth high housing level low mini prospects quite rates recent remains strong
Housing may get another mini boost from the recent drop in rates. These data do lag a bit. Still, it is clear that, low rates or not, housing is not on fire the way it once was. The level of activity remains quite high for housing. But the prospects for further growth do not look that strong based on momentum.
assessment change economy fed growth job risks turnaround
How could we have such a turnaround in job growth and have the Fed find that it doesn't change its assessment of risks in the economy whatsoever?
challenge few hand inflation issues labor sharp though turned
I don't think inflation is that much of a concern. However, there are still a few short-term issues at hand that could challenge spending, such as the labor market. Though it had improved, it hasn't yet turned a sharp corner.
core excited fed gotten hardly inflation low oil past raising rates year
I don't think there's anything the Fed can make better by raising rates faster, ... They've gotten rates up a lot in the past year already. Inflation had accelerated because of oil but core inflation is still low and hardly anything to get excited about.
consumer overall spending temper
The consumer still has life. It does temper the overall gain, but we're still going to see the consumer spending this quarter.
below federal funds harder inflation interest lower rates stimulate
If you really want to stimulate the economy, you put interest rates down below the inflation rate. The lower the inflation rate goes, the harder it is to get the federal funds rate down below that.