[Companies] have lowered expectations to almost zero, ... We could have stocks rally on the notion that the worst news is behind us. |
[The unemployment report] is going to have a high-intensity focus. |
A demon in the market decided to punish us on the last session of the year. |
A lot of people should not pay attention to the ups and downs daily because clearly they cannot discern the next week or two weeks in terms of trends in the markets. Where do you want to put your money long term, and I stress long term. We always advocate a very strong diversification. |
A lot of these stocks were much higher a year ago than they are today. Clearly, the bottom-fishing issue is important and real. |
Any (profit) short-fall in that growth rate at 110 times earnings means there's some risk in these stocks. |
As we start the new year, we could see tech get a slight boost, but then I think investors will turn to consumer stocks as the economy continues to recover. |
Aside from the economic concerns, on the geopolitical front there's a little Iraq hangover from last week. |
Be prepared for a continuation of negative commentary by companies as they warn about the second quarter. |
But after all the corporate governance issues, there's a tendency now of erring on the side of ultra-conservatism in terms of what companies say about future quarters and that's going to continue. |
But it's also a dangerous period. There isn't a lot of news and the volume is low, so the market is going to move more on rumor than on fact. |
But the question is more about economic growth. |
Clearly it is not much of a surprise. There was a very strong feeling he would try to establish himself as an inflation hawk. |
Clearly people are anxious. Psychologically, the market is prepared to rally, but it needs clear evidence of a positive trend to do so, particularly on the first day of the (fourth) quarter. |
Clearly the retail numbers in general were just a shade above the consensus estimate. Ex-auto sales ... were right in line. |