Steven Wood Related Quotations

It's unclear whether the declines are related to year-end concerns or to a more general softening in manufacturing activity, but they do add evidence to the (Fed's) forecast for slower growth going forward.

Some of the December strength and January weakness appears to be related to Y2K precautions; the (Federal Open Market Committee) will need a lot more evidence of a slowdown in consumer spending than this to convince them that further tightening is not warranted,

While some of the decline was related to the effects of Hurricane Floyd, the fact that all four regions fell suggests that higher mortgage rates are also having a constraining effect.

There is a clear improving trend in orders which provides support for the recovering manufacturing sector, ... Although some of the inventory building that occurred was likely Y2K related and will be reversed in the new year, the acceleration of both shipments and backlogs suggests that the manufacturing recovery has substantial staying power.

The burden of higher interest rates will weigh down the housing industry further. This, in turn, should lead to moderated residential construction and home related consumer spending on goods such as furniture, appliances, and home improvement items in coming months.