123 Quotes by Ken Goldstein

Rising business costs and uncertainty in many companies about price hikes is a major consideration now in how fast the domestic economy can grow, especially in the second half of the year.

Part of the real story here is that, through July, producers were still getting more output, with fewer labor hours put in. Productivity in the third quarter is probably going to be stronger than in the second quarter, confirming the idea that, while the stock market's not in good shape, the overall economy's not that bad.

Some of the department store sales don't make sense to me,

The overall Leading Economic Indicators began to edge down in July, suggesting the economy was losing steam this summer and would continue to slow down in the fall.

We discovered for the umpteenth time that what matters most for most Americans is the labor market.

Today's conditions are similar to those prevailing in the late 1980s, when there were also widespread reports of jobs available and no one to fill them.

The fact that the January number is back up to the higher level we saw in August 2005 indicates that the demand for labor is holding steady and seems to have weathered the hurricane and energy-related effects of last fall. The January online help-wanted ad volume is consistent with what we are seeing from the Consumer Confidence Survey. In January, consumers were more upbeat about current economic conditions, and they were especially more positive about the job market.

To me, that could well prove a more important issue than the impact of Katrina,

The recovery in the leading index could indicate that the economy is poised for growth by late summer. There appears to be enough economic demand to end the slide in industrial production, though no strong rebound appears in sight.