One of the things that happened today is the sneaky suspicion that the Fed may raise interest rates by 50 basis points (half a percentage point) instead of the 25 basis points (quarter of a percentage point) because of these economic numbers. |
The interest rate environment is very troubling. Investors are trying to get their arms around the increases. There are still many economists out there that are calling for at least another half-point increase after this. So the near-term outlook, albeit earnings, is making investors very, very nervous. |
We feel very optimistic, frankly. Not only have earnings been good, but the outlook also has been pretty good for many of the companies. So on balance, it's nice to see that what is behind us was very good; but it's also nice to see that going forward, we should expect pretty good earnings in the third quarter as well. |