“We should start to see better numbers in the May data. If we don't see improvement, it would be much more worrisome than the recent weakness and might inspire the Fed to cut in June. My own view is that we will see better numbers.”
“[It's] good news because liquidation of inventories sets the stage for stronger orders, stronger production and stronger employment growth down the road.”
“If inflation were to slow down some more, that would put off the date of any further tightening. But if it's stable or rising, the Fed will focus more on job numbers. We think the labor market indicators will be fairly strong.”
“The more important development more recently was the tax cut that was enacted over the weekend, which will provide some pretty good support for consumer spending over the next few quarters.”