Cleared For A Soft Landing

When Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan treks to Congress on July 20 to deliver his semiannual review of the U.S. economy, he is likely to sound every bit the cautious central banker. Despite a spate of indicators pointing to a slowdown, the Fed chief is expected to insist that it's too soon to declare victory in the year-long campaign to rein in runaway growth. He may even cluck about the inflationary peril posed by the nation's insatiable appetite for workers.

But don't be fooled by the chairman's typically somber affect. Inside the hushed halls of the Federal Reserve, Greenspan & Co. are really quite pleased these days. While Greenspan is unlikely to pat himself on the back in public--and probably not even in private--it is becoming increasingly clear that he and most of his Fed colleagues believe that they're on the verge of pulling off an unprecedented second soft landing for the economy. And with it, they may have extended the life of an already long expansion.