The underlying themes are interest rates and commodity pricing. Home buying has slowed down, thus the consumer furnishings area has started to hurt, and in some cases consumers aren't buying any clothes anymore. |
There are a lot of upside surprises. It's just across the board. |
These companies are having a tough time following through with the kind of sales projections they had forecast only months ago, ... No one, including the analysts themselves, had predicted such a significant and all-encompassing slowdown, and there's a lot more to come. |
These companies are having a tough time following through with the kind of sales projections they had forecast only months ago. No one, including the analysts themselves, had predicted such a significant and all-encompassing slowdown, and there's a lot more to come. |
Through 2001 profit gains are expected to continue slowing, but get back to more sustainable levels. People are viewing this as terrible that growth is slowing, but that's going on the assumption that high double-digit growth is normal. |
We think when all is said and done, you're talking about something like 13 percent growth. |