Stephen Gallagher Quotations

It's a very strong report. We're seeing a lot of strength in the consumer and business sectors.

Employment growth is very healthy for the economy. Job and income gains will remain supportive for consumer activity.

Businesses have been through a lot over the last few years, and many of them don't have a great deal of tolerance for uncertainty.

Reduced liquidity in the markets is likely to result in a wider swap spread.

Retailers have no pricing power themselves, as evidenced by all the discounts they had to offer to generate holiday sales. In terms of volume, they succeeded, but not at the level of profitability they would have liked.

On the headline, it's a great report, up 5.8 percent. The recovery is under way. But we're also beginning to see a bottom in durable equipment declines, which is important because it's about corporate profits. But we still need that to be stronger to make sure that this recovery is here to stay.

Real consumption expenditures will likely be a full percentage above our earlier estimates of 5.0 percent to 5.5 percent. As a result, real GDP in the first quarter is more likely between 5.5 percent and 6.0 percent.

It may be even more that one (rate hike). If they move once there is always another chance for another one, but I think the message that we got from Greenspan today is that it will not be an aggressive increase in rates.

The housing numbers look pretty strong, but we have to discount them due to the mild weather effects. We are getting confirmations from the companies themselves about lower orders.

It's pretty much all due to autos. We got a solid rebound in auto sales last month due to the new discounts put in place in mid-November.