Why worry when there are so many analysts to do it for you?
People who have to work for a living might be forgiven for believing that the economic outlook is pretty good, what with a low unemployment rate, a high–if volatile–stock market and hardly a price increase around worthy of the name.
Danger lurks, as usual. A colleague, tongue half in cheek, suggests that a new round of commodity price inflation could be set off because of surging demand for newsprint and other paper prompted by increased press runs of publications giving the last word, and then some, about recent deaths of prominent personalities.
That makes as much sense as some of the reasons given for the jerkiness of financial markets that seemed to march off in different directions at the same time. Take Friday. An initial reading of the unemployment report was, sensibly, that, discounting the effects of the Teamsters Union strike against United Parcel Service last month, job growth remained at a sustainable level while wage gains showed little sign of inflationary pressure.
On second thought, the alarmists were able to get in their two cents worth. Despite the benign appearance, they said, “the economy is likely to (perform) well in excess of its long-term speed limit” and “the underlying economy remains strong.”
When the Federal Reserve chiefs meet Sept. 30, the betting is they won’t raise short-term interest rates. Let us applaud standing pat.
