Earnings, by and large, are what investors are hanging their hats on, ... Some earnings improvements have prompted some optimism, but we'll know more about that next week. |
Enron's quick collapse touched off more aggressiveness by regulators and prompted them to dig more deeply into executive dealings, |
Enron's quick collapse touched off more aggressiveness by regulators and prompted them to dig more deeply into executive dealings. |
Essentially we're just completing a week where there appears to be some market stabilization starting to surface, |
Even if a trading halt were put in, it might be 'something to do about nothing,' ... This is an orderly drop, rather than one filled with panic. |
Events like this bring things to a halt and raise a level of shock that is difficult to describe, ... This is a huge catastrophe and it's one that has no parallel in history. |
For the moment it's a blue-chip gain, ... The economy is showing signs of improving, but techs are still lagging. So there's more safety for investors in blue chips. |
For the most part it appears most of the bad news is out. |
Greenspan's comments did little to build confidence, ... The main catalyst today was to back away from risk and try to buy a bit of stability. |
Here and there, we may have a ray of sunshine. Some companies may report better-than-expected earnings, ... But, on balance, in this climate, those reports are not likely to fuel markets to move much higher. |
Higher energy costs will clearly affect individuals and businesses alike, ... It is in fact an invisible tax that the economy could well do without. |
However as we come closer to the next Fed meeting, and hopes are that the Fed will cut interest rates, we might have a relief rally. |
I don't think it signifies very much. We're still in a position of extreme rotation in the markets. |
I like two stocks, Apache and Ocean Energy. I don't own either of them. The firm doesn't make a market in any of them. We don't have an investment banking relationship, to the best of my knowledge, but I think both stocks have done well in the poor market, ... Apache is really building a pipeline of reserves. They drill in seven major countries. They're natural gas rich. They have held in this market and I think we can look for big earnings coming up over the next year or two. |
I think for the moment the big chains are running like elephants. They tend to be behind the cheetahs and the panthers, ... I think they lumber along, and I think this is not necessarily the time to move. I think the turnaround isn't going to be as routine or orderly as you might expect. I'd want to stay with the strength right now. |