Investors want it; institutions want it, and companies are starting to react. |
It makes a difference when you look at a company with 14 percent growth as opposed to 8 percent growth. |
It would be nice if it turned out we were wrong again, that our forecasts for the second quarter were also too pessimistic, but unfortunately, I don't think that's going to be the case, ... With the ongoing currency situation, higher oil prices, and the more difficult comparisons year-over-year, a slowdown is to be expected. |
It'll downshift just a little bit. But there's nothing wrong with that. You can't expect 20 percent profit growth forever. |
It's all a risk-reward trade-off. |
It's going to be controversial because it introduces a lot of volatility. |
It's still very good growth, considering. |
It's still very good growth, considering. And again, there's nothing wrong with repurchases. |
Oil prices are going nowhere but up and so we believe that earnings are going to go south. It does cast a doubt over whether earnings growth for the rest of the year will be at double-digit levels. |
Pensions are legal obligations. There's a guarantee. |
Right now, we're looking at the 16th straight quarter of double-digit profits. We've seen broad gains, not for the entire world, but it's going to be a very decent quarter. |
The aim of the S&P 500 is to emulate the entire market, not necessarily do better than the market. If we beat the overall market, we're not doing our job. |
The bottom line is that the problem has definitely gotten worse. If this goes on much longer, it's not going to be just an investor concern, it's going to be a retiree concern. |
The bulge in cash is permitting companies to simultaneously finance record levels of stock buybacks and dividends, |
The cost of oil will likely still be pretty high, consumer spending is slowing down, and it'll be tax time. |