Last week was a bad week for the market, and this week does not look to be more propitious, |
Lots of money has moved to the sidelines, ... People are not comfortable with the uncertainty ahead, made up of the fact that many of the tech companies keep lowering their guidance. |
Most of the attention will be riveted to the Fed meeting on [March] 20th, ... We are no longer a U.S. market isolated from the rest of the world ? foreign markets react to what happens here. I think the U.S. has to take the lead here in aggressively cutting interest rates. |
Most of the retailers are watching their advertising dollars very carefully. This is not going to be an easy period for retailers but it could be worse. Tax refunds are certainly playing some positive role in consumer spending patterns. |
My current suggestion is to let the dust settle and look for buying opportunities, ... One of my favorites is Pfizer. |
My feeling is the Fed hasn't clearly indicated that it's fighting a slower economy rather than inflation. Economists and individual investors would like to see the Fed cut rates by 75 basis points and I do believe that would take some of the pressure off the consumer. |
My sense is that an earnings recovery is further away than expected and there is no immediate catalyst to turn this market sharply higher. We could have a trading rally, but on balance, people are still nervous about the earnings outlook. |
My sense is that the market is responding to the possibility that a meaningful economic stimulus package will be in place soon that will at least shore up some of the shortfall in capital spending, |
Negative psychology is building and confidence is eroding, ... We're seeing the deterioration of the desire to buy -- everything is for sale from Main Street to Wall Street. |
Next week will be very tense, full of sadness and recollections about Sept. 11 ... Prudent investors may not want to commit money until after we cross that date. |
Once again, it's anybody's guess next week. It would not surprise me to see people sell on strength, take a little cash off the table and wait for the markets to stabilize. |
One can hardly ignore the strength or weakness of the earnings reports coming out nor can they ignore the slowing state of the U.S. economy. |
One more solid salvo from the Fed, combined with a tax cut, could be the combustible combination to get the market going. |
People are concerned about higher interest rates ahead and they think the best way to protect themselves is to own growth stocks that may not be as hurt by higher rates, |
Rate hikes bite different sectors of the economy at different rates. For example, one of the key areas that was hit hard and appears to be slowing down is housing. Consumer spending will take some time to slow down, maybe three to six months out. But in any case, what the Fed is targeting is GDP of 5 percent this year and a GDP hopefully next year of closer to 4 to 4-1/4 percent. |