(W)hat we are likely to see in Germany is the best year for consumer spending in a half decade. As a measure of how much pent-up demand there is in Germany, the average age of the auto fleet is at a record eight years.

There is a historical pattern that everyone should be aware of because each of the past three newly appointed Fed chairman began their tenure with a quick succession of interest rate hikes.

The first of the boomers turn 60 this year. They are about to retire, and they have been spending as if they were 30, for the last 30 years.

There is no question that these are trends that are going to add to people's anxiety and the process has already started.

We are clearly in a state of economic uncertainty and the prudent thing to do in such times is to do nothing at all.

There is no doubt that when I speak to hedge funds and real-money investors, they have some questions. They say that he has to prove his credentials right away.

The only reason I'm calling for a rate hike is because that's what they told us they are going to do.

We think that countries and areas of activity that have been weakest in the last couple of years are likely to see the strongest rebound in growth. Thus, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands should see more marked recoveries than Spain and France, where activity has held up well.

The employment cost index report adds to the growing list of evidence that there is very little in the way of cost pressures in the inflation pipeline.