The only thing that would shake me would be a fundamental change, if rates would rise dramatically to 7 percent, if the profit margin contraction continued, if the love affair by the public with mutual...

We knew deep down there was some good news in the bottom line, but we were beginning to have our doubts.

This is par for the course. All you’ve got to do is breath heavy and you get the Dow plus or minus 90 points.

Earnings statements will make or break the market this week. I’ll be watching the reports coming from some of the technology names, because I think that sector may lead the way this year.

The differentiation is where the recession is coming from. When you’re in a consumer-housing situation, the rate cuts have a very dramatic effect and hit much sooner. But when you’re in a manufacturing recession involving...

There were a couple of one-shot deals in the PPI — auto prices and tobacco prices. If you took those two items out, the core rate was up 0.1. That’s the reason why the markets...

It’s a good rally and it’s got some legs for a few days, but I wouldn’t go nuts chasing after it. It’s going to be challenged in the near future.

I think we’re in the twilight zone. You have the confessional period followed by the summer doldrums, so there really isn’t anything that’s going to spur it to the upside.

The mergers helped, but you also had some asset reallocation, with people taking money out of Treasurys and putting it into equities.

We will be challenged by fourth-quarter earnings.

We are in a bit of a vacuum with the long three-day weekend coming up. Tomorrow will be a vacuum kind of day.

When we arrive on Monday, we may or may not know the full extent of Hurricane Rita. The stock market can attempt to discount what is discernible, but when it comes to acts of nature,...

The selling last week was so extreme, there had to be a snap back.

Even if Bush were to win, there’s no mandate to do any radical legislation.

The popular indexes have managed to reach 4 1/2-year highs, while small and midsize indexes flirt with all-time highs. The lack of sustainability is likely due to the senior citizen status of the bull market,...

Cyclical stocks are helping the Dow today, … Morgan Stanley upgraded some chemical stocks and that’s giving cyclical stocks — paper, chemicals — a boost.

If I was doing some bargain-hunting in blue chips, those are two that I would go after.

The market is extremely overbought.

It was a respectable day. But after the (Fed) decision tomorrow, I think we can do better. I think the Street is braced for a no-rate-cut, no-rate-hike move from the Fed.

Today bonds rallied because of the softer new home sales. Yesterday, bonds fell because the purchasing managers report was too strong. Now we go to Friday and the non-farm payrolls, which is the main part...

If the Fed even hints that it will stop raising rates, that would be a major catalyst to move the market higher.

This resiliency is something that’s very impressive.

The earnings numbers are still respectable, but they are softening. The psychology is that you can’t make projections about future earnings without having some sense about where the price of oil is going and what...

Second quarter is going to be excellent. Remember when the first quarter was reported in April, we had a 1,000-point gain in the Dow, and that was only a 10-percent (earnings) gain.

I’m amazed at how well the market has held. This sideways action shows a very strong market.

I’m expecting more of the same.

so you can see how narrow (the rally) really is.

Rising long rates threaten the bellwether housing industry as well as consumer spending. The higher [bond] returns begin to compete with stocks for institutional affection.

Translated, the Microsoft ruling was a major event, but it was so predictable as to have little immediate impact.

Cyclical stocks are helping the Dow today. Morgan Stanley upgraded some chemical stocks and that’s giving cyclical stocks — paper, chemicals — a boost.