Overheard On The Street
Here’s what they’re saying at mid-day:
John Trammell, Managing Director,
Argonaut Capital Management: “I characterized the market to our trading
desk a few days ago as a ping-pong match, and it really is sort of an emotional
ping-pong match that is punctuated by expectations of earnings and people
announcing that they weren’t going to make those earnings. I do believe there is
a new fear creeping into the market that was started first by oil prices and
then the talk from the government that there could be a little more inflation in
the economy than we had previously believed. Equities have all but taken the
inflation premium out on the equity valuation side, so if you begin to add that
back in, even at the margin, it’s going to result in at least a choppy market, if
not a lower market.”
John Roque, Vice President, Arnhold and
S. Bleichroeder: “With the market in a Snow White scenario, will the
poisonous Apple
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seven dwarves when you need them? We doubt that AAPL’s news and subsequent
fundamental downgrades will be enough to push the Nasdaq beneath support at 3614
and then 3500. Intel’s
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news will either. But that begs the following point — Can tech rally sharply? We
still don’t think so.”
Frank Calta, Director of Equity Trading,
George K. Baum: “I think there’s a great deal of nervousness in this
market. You’re about to enter the heart of the reporting period, and so far,
early indications are, from maybe not the bellwethers yet, but from some of the
technology names, the word is that the earnings have not been that good. I think
that basically, that is what is creating so much anxiety right now.”