The early read from the Home Depot meeting is mixed. Though we feel that the company is generally positive as earnings-per-share estimates should go up, our enthusiasm is tempered by what looks like a lower [total] sales and comparable sales number for their fourth quarter. |
The earnings quality was weak because the earnings growth was driven by lines that are very hard to forecast or unpredictable like trading incomes and acquired loan portfolios. These were the lines that really drove the earnings results and were unusually high this quarter. |
The eye on the prize is that we get the resources we need so folks have the confidence that they can come back, and there's a long-term commitment of the federal government to be the state's partner in protecting our cities and towns from hurricanes and restoring the coast. |
The fact that we're playing at home doesn't really give us that much confidence because they went on the road twice and beat two great teams. They're a six seed, but they're not playing like a six seed. They beat a three and a one seed, so they're playing like a great team. |
The Fed Chairman would be very happy if the bond market did some of the tightening for him. And I think if we saw the long bond yield back above, say, 6.75 percent, edging towards 7 percent, that would limit some of the restraint the Fed would have to impose on the economy. |
The Fed cut rates back in November as a growth insurance policy, and here we are, four months later, and employment is still declining. This is an important statement to makers of monetary policy -- you need to come in here and do something to get an extra insurance policy. |
The Fed really tried to throw some cold water on those who are saying the recession's over already, ... The optimists are declaring it over already ... I think there's a good chance they're wrong, and the Fed obviously is predicating policy on the basis that they are wrong. |
The few wiretap orders ever extended to campuses do not justify the costs to standardize their entire systems. We are working with the FCC and FBI on some type of proposal where we could come up short of actual compliance but initiate programs that make surveillance easier. |
The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity. |
The first thing that came to mind [after winning] was Sharon Cole and when she first came to Wisconsin four years ago. It was also of her being the captain of her team four years later and how much she's matured and grown and developed into a solid Division I hockey player. |
The first three innings, both ways, took 15 or 20 minutes. It was just one, two, three for both sides. Finally, in the bottom of the fourth we got a base hit, then after that we started getting a few more and just kind picked here and there and added one or two each inning. |
The first time in August, I didn't know what was going on. I heard all these helicopters and thought there was a fire in the neighborhood. Then I got a phone call, telling me T. O. had gotten booted out of training camp. That time, I didn't come down to see the shenanigans. |
The first year was the hardest for us. There weren't any bad surprises. It is just another kind of life, maybe more comfortable than in Russia from one side. But from another side, we didn't have enough money, we didn't know the language and it was the hardest thing for us. |
The fourth quarter is when we'll see the impact of rising interest rates, higher energy prices, ... I would say eBay is the biggest piece of the problem this morning. It's a household name and it's adding to the sentiment we're not going to have the best of fourth quarters. |
The fundamental safety and security of this card is the best in the industry. And we also have the most sophisticated fraud detection and prevention systems. More than 75 percent of the time, when a card is lost or stolen, we find out about it long before the customer does. |