Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
Paul Rabbitt, President,
RabbittAnalytics.com: "Stocks should return 15% or more in the coming year.
Most are oversold and seasonal fores are positive. The early focus this week
will be the Fed meeting Tuesday. The change to a neutral Fed interest rate
stance is widely anticipated. Last week’s economic reports were mostly soft.
They will continue to soften because the more recent rate hikes of last spring
have not had time to impact the U.S. economy yet. Sentiment has entered
pessimistic territory as reflected in the high put/call ratios, cash levels, and
public/specialist short sales ratios."
John Roque, Vice President, Arnhold and
S. Bleichroeder: "Everybody knows Nasdaq has support at 2500 and it’s not
just from late November/early December ’00. Check out this level going back to
the period from January ’99 through August ’99 because there’s a whole lot of
trading that occurred around this area. So just eyeballing the chart, it’s not
hard to find to figure that a bounce should occur. But even if Nasdaq bottoms
today, history suggests that it’s not going to be bullish again for a long, long
time."
Brian Belski, Fundamental Market Analyst,
U.S. Bancorp/Piper Jaffray: "Up 10% one week, then down 9% the next. This
volatility is getting a little old, and we have the Pepto Bismol stains to prove
it. Yet, stock markets rarely bottom when the numbers say they are supposed to,
and we are left to learn the market’s lessons of humility along with everyone
else. While ambiguity has run the gamut this year, there are actually at least
three things we know for sure: 1. Interest rates and earnings really do matter,
2. The herd is hardly ever correct, and 3. Nobody really knows what to do right
now."