Hans Olsen Quotes (22 Quotes)

This is expected to be one of the worse hurricane seasons, and so far they're right and we're only halfway through it. All you have to do is pose the question What if you had another monster storm in another few weeks, just as things are starting to come back on line I don't know how you would avoid recession in that environment.

Some investors worry that if the inversion persists, it may signal a tough time ahead for the economy. But it's still too soon to know it for sure.

Look for it in the earnings of discount retailers, restaurants and travel sectors. Start to look for GDP to be impacted, earnings in the third and fourth quarters, especially now because we're starting to approach the home heating season. This is not good. We haven't seen anything like this in the better part of 25 years, where you start to have people thinking about gas lines.

If the number is 50,000 above or below, that's a variation where you'll see a reaction. If it's below, then people will right away start talking about what the revision will be next month.

It all leads to the idea that inflation isn't so bad. That supplies some push for the market.

It's remarkable that consumer confidence remains so high and it may help bring to stocks some buying momentum. Companies in the industrial and consumer sectors are the most likely to benefit from high confidence levels at the start of 2006.

Those are kind of defensive stocks, with fairly inelastic demand. In good times and bad, you're going to use those types of products.

If you can use basic common sense, you're OK. But, when you're a college kid, dying to play in the NFL, and now you have scouts from the Giants, the Seahawks, the Cowboys all waiting on you, and you're trying to figure out how many 25-cent eggs Sally needs to sell to make 15, you're afraid you're going to look stupid.

The rise in energy costs caused by Katrina is going to start taking money out of people's pockets that they would have spent on something else, ... Look for the (impact) in the earnings of discount retailers, restaurants, and travel sectors - start to look for GDP to be impacted.

To say that we knew she was going to improve and excel at the rate that she is, that would not be a true statement. She has exceeded the schedule that I thought. She is probably already at the point where I thought she would be in two years.

The only good spot today was factory orders.

We may be getting very close to the end of this rate-increase cycle and it may be also time for the Fed to make that clear. Stocks will benefit from that.

The economy had been incredibly resilient in the face of lots of potential threats. Those threats have started to take hold in slower growth and corporate earnings, and I think it could get worse yet in the fourth quarter.

It's interesting to note the diversity of the companies that are reporting these profit shortfalls. And we're still early into this.

The market is clearly responding to the drop in consumer confidence. It's hard to be terribly optimistic when it cost you 60 to fill up the car.

It's really the Fed at this point that's kept the market in check. The historic conversation between the Fed and the markets has become a bit of an argument over whether there's really inflation, and whether we need those rate hikes.

That shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone, because all the background was in place for that to happen what with rising interest rates and consumer spending where it's at, ... We may be seeing the beginning of a real slowdown in the housing market. That's a big concern hanging out there.

A good number will confirm the upward bias for interest rates and higher rates are a headwind for equity prices.

These numbers combined with yesterday's ... gives the Fed a lot of ammunition to raise interest rates and if you have, at the same time, the economy slowing, that's just going to make a really difficult environment for stocks.

It's obvious that the hurricanes will drag this number down, and because of that, separating the trend from the noise is going to be hard. When it's hard to assign a meaning to this number, the market will likely just overlook it.

In reality, it won't matter as much because other elements like spending and consumer sentiment look good and that will keep the upward pressure on interest rates.

Right now, it's like an absence of bad news is being treated as good news. I see it as just a lot of noise right now. There's still a lot out there to deal with.