So the Jobs Report Is Dismal. The Fed Has No Place to Go but Up. By JONATHAN FUERBRINGER New York Times August 8, 2004 That will Fed policy makers do this week in the face of surprisingly weak job growth in the last two months? Raise interest rates, of course. Despite the awkward timing of the Fed meeting, so soon after Friday's report that only 32,000 new jobs were created in July, the Fed has little maneuvering room. "The Fed is going to raise rates," said Richard Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. He said that one reason Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, would go ahead was that "he has got to raise rates so he can cut them again if there is a terrorist attack."
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
