The combination of Thursday's economic reports was uniformly indicative of a lackluster economy. Retail sales were weak, consumer confidence declined and new jobless claims increased. One would think that this set of information would spark a renewed belief on the part of market participants that the Fed would announce a reduction in the federal funds rate sooner rather than wait until the May 15 FOMC meeting. But it seems that market players have stopped clamoring for an inter-meeting rate cut. At the same time, most economists are predicting a rate cut at the May meeting of 50 basis points that would bring the federal funds rate target down to 4.5 percent. Most economists expect that the funds rate target to eventually come down to 4 percent. Some analysts are more worried about economic conditions and expect the Fed will need to reduce rates even further. In the meantime, it seems that market sentiment has settled down to a less demanding phase and is willing to wait for the Fed to act at their regularly scheduled meeting.