The early data for January have been reasonably good.
I am not suggesting we should be complacent about the weak statistic for fourth-quarter growth.
The answer to how much higher the federal funds rate needs to go depends on how economic conditions unfold.
The current account deficit is at a record level, as a percent of GDP (gross domestic product). We're now at 6.5 percent. That is a very large number that cannot be sustained.
Some may interpret this weak performance as a sign that the energy shocks may have finally taken their toll.
In the past several years consumers ... have been very diligent in managing some of their debt in terms of refinancing to lower rates, but we'll have to ... keep our eye on this situation as the conditions change.
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