We think we're going to see recovery by second half of the year and that growth can be quite brisk,

To get faster job growth, we're going to need either faster aggregate demand, which seems hard to fathom, or we're going to need some diminution of the recent extra cyclical pop in productivity, ... When will that start? Anybody who says they know is lying.

We've been talking for a long time about capital spending growth being a key component of the sustainability of this recovery. You have to be encouraged about what we've seen.

[There's a reason why politicians are telling the American people to do the right thing and get to the mall.] Consumer spending is the 800-pound gorilla when you're talking about the economy, ... It's two-thirds of the economy.

It's critical that the labor market start to show unambiguous signs of strength. It's a necessary condition for the recovery to be on a self-sustaining path.

The job market has been improving; it's just been very, very slow. But we are starting to turn the corner and are likely to see job creation [get] a little better as we turn into 2003.