By Evelina M. Tainer, Chief Economist, Econoday
November 15, 2002

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan testified before the Joint Economic Committee this week. His comments were generally a rehash of the FOMC statement released the previous week, but he did hit on "soft-patch", a new catch phrase that economists thrashed about all week. As soon as the "soft-patch" passes, all will be well with the recovery.

Economic news this week mostly surprised market players. Retail sales were stronger than expected but industrial production was weaker. The shock of the week was the producer price index, which jumped on special factors that hit like a perfect storm.