Transcripts

Stocks End The Roller Coaster Week On The Upside

SUSIE GHARIB: Stocks ended a volatile week on the upside. The Dow rose 67 points and the NASDAQ was up 12 points. Gains came despite fresh evidence that inflation is picking up in the U.S. economy. The Commerce Department said today that the personal consumption expenditure, a closely watched inflation gauge of the Federal Reserve, rose a 0.2 percent last month. While that`s a slight slowdown from March`s pace, it puts the annual rate of core inflation over 2 percent. Most economists believe that`s at the top of the Fed`s comfort zone.

JERRY WEBMAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, OPPENHEIMERFUNDS: We`ve been in a goldilocks environment now for a couple of years. And what today`s numbers, this week`s numbers in the market actually told us is that the risk that the porridge is either too hot or too cold, that`s really gone up.

GHARIB: Today`s data also heated up the debate about whether inflation pressures will force the Fed to hike interest rates again at its next meeting in late June. Many economists say such a move is too close to call right now.