Paul Sweeney

Maybe it goes to the growth issue.

But, you know, oil is still holding very high levels.

That suggests maybe the market's saying, I'm not sure.

this Strait of Hormuz thing is ever going to clear up in the near term.

No, I spent half my life on New Jersey Transit, so that's kind of how I roll.

That being said, what's your view on a consumer?

Because it seems like the consumer is more than hanging in there, I guess.

How's the US consumer doing with this backdrop here?

So how do we think about inflation here?

Because we did mention consumers are seeing it at the pump, a big increase, and we'll probably see it in other parts of the economy as higher energy costs flow through to, you know...

you know, fertilizers and food and all that type of stuff.

How do you think about inflation?

There's little to no population growth in this country these days.

So for this economy to grow, can it grow because of increased productivity, maybe AI enhancing that?

So, I mean, again, if you look at the WIRP function on the Bloomberg terminal, the market kind of agrees with you.

I mean, you get some people looking for a little bit of a rate cut.

Yeah.

I mean, kind of.

Just kind of steady as she goes, I guess.

Is that the right policy?