Alan Greenspan Rice Quotations

Because it is difficult to suppress growing market exuberance when the economic environment is perceived as more stable, a highly flexible system needs to be in place to rebalance an economy in which psychology and asset prices could change rapidly,

We don't look at stock prices and say, 'If they are rising we have to raise interest rates,' ... To the extent that the stock market affects the economy, we will respond to that.

With real energy prices on the rise, more rapid decreases in the intensity of energy use in the years ahead seem virtually inevitable,

Despite the rise in oil prices through mid-August, inflation and inflation expectations have eased in recent months,

Despite the combination of somewhat slower growth of productivity in recent quarters, higher energy prices, and a decline in the exchange rate for the dollar, core measures of consumer prices have registered only modest increases,

Still-significant productivity growth and a sizable margin of underutilized resources, to date, have checked any sustained acceleration of the general price level and should continue to do so for a time,

The extent and pace of recovery of Asian economies currently experiencing a severe downturn will have important ramifications for prices of energy and other commodities, the strength of the dollar, and competitive conditions on world product markets,

But, given our current state of knowledge, I find it difficult to envision central banks successfully targeting asset prices any time soon,

These changes, assisted by improved prices in asset markets, have left households and businesses better positioned than they were earlier to boost outlays as their wariness about the economic environment abates,

The economy is turning, and credit comes in with a lag, ... To the extent that a number of small firms are finding it difficult to get the credit they need at a price they can afford, that's likely to change for the better.

While actual CPI inflation has picked up this year, this rise has not been mirrored uniformly in other broad price measures,

History cautions that extended periods of low concern about credit risk have invariably been followed by reversal, with an attendant fall in the prices of risky assets.

The notion of a bubble bursting and the whole price level coming down ... as a national phenomenon is really quite unlikely,

As I see it, heightened job insecurity ... explains a significant part of the restraint on (wages), and the consequent muted price inflation, ... Surveys of workers have highlighted this extraordinary state of affairs.

At some point, labor market conditions can become so tight that the rise in nominal wages will start increasingly outpacing the gains in labor productivity, and prices inevitably will then eventually begin to accelerate,

The likelihood is that we shall be seeing some lower prices on imported goods as a result of the difficulties in Asia, ... But they will not permanently suppress the risks inherent in the tightened labor markets.

The Fed is struggling to find a firmer standard of monetary policy, ... The focus on asset prices has become an increasing issue of debate at the Fed.

The determination of global economic activity in recent years has been influenced importantly by capital gains on various types of assets, and the liabilities that finance them. Our forecasts and hence policy are becoming increasingly driven by asset price changes.

The housing boom will inevitably simmer down, ... As part of that process, house turnover will decline from currently historic levels, while home price increases will slow and prices could even decrease.

... the flexibility of our market-driven economy has allowed us, thus far, to weather reasonably well the steep rise in spot and futures prices for crude oil and natural gas that we have experienced over the past two years,

Although the global economic expansion appears to have been on a reasonably firm path through the summer months, the recent surge in energy prices will undoubtedly be a drag from now on.

signs of froth in some local markets where home prices seem to have risen to unsustainable levels.

Technology is also damping upward price pressures through its effect on international trade,

the possibility that the forces from Asia might damp activity and prices by more than is desirable.

Let me say this anyway on the record: We do not and have not been targeting stock prices for the purposes of endeavoring to stabilize this economy, ... We react if and when stock market price changes impact on the economy. We respond to the economy.

the recent surge in energy prices will undoubtedly be a drag (on the economy) from now on.

In the face of energy price spike and the erosion of optimism in financial markets, consumer confidence, or sentiment, appears to be holding up reasonably well to date, though there have been some mixed signals of late.

The level of equity prices would appear to envision substantially greater growth of profits than has been experienced of late,

With price inflation already at a low level, substantial further disinflation would be an unwelcome development, especially to the extent it put pressure on profit margins and impeded the revival of business spending,

weathered reasonably well the steep rise in spot and futures prices for oil and natural gas.

Lower equity prices and higher financing costs should damp household and business spending, and greater uncertainty and risk aversion may also lead to more cautious spending behavior,