Jack Ablin Quotes (41 Quotes)

Any bad news can throw us, and the jobs report was perceived as bad news, seen as a sign that the recovery is fragile, but that's not necessarily true. In the last two recessions, a pickup in employment only happened a year after the recession had ended. So just because unemployment is higher doesn't mean we're not on track for a recovery.

I would infer from the statement that the Fed is somewhat more sanguine on the economic recovery. Perhaps they believe that 55 oil prices are, at least for the time being, something of the past and that jobs are just improving at a moderate pace.

We can't believe any trend right now, until the issues tied to this conflict are resolved. Unfortunately, in this kind of market there's going to be no clear direction. We're going to be in this holding pattern for the next few weeks, at least.

Investors have their rally caps on for year end, and we're doing it with speculation. With a good inflation report and strong growth, it seems to be the perfect elixir for Wall Street.

Fundamentally, I think the stock market is fairly valued, but there are a lot of issues around that are causing investor concern.

There has been this continual debate as to whether higher oil prices are inflationary or a restraint on growth. This year, the bond market has signaled that it is inflationary.

They're going to get a deal done, but they may end up paying a premium. These firms are finding an increasing portion of their bottom line attributed to trading and asset management.

But the key here is really going to be guidance. Everyone is looking for signs of the rolling over of profit growth, although not as much as the Fed or higher energy prices might indicate.

I would not expect investors and traders to make any big bets ahead of the number tomorrow. It clues us in on growth in the economy but also inflation.

We're still getting more negatives on the economic front today, and this is a period where we're really looking for economic growth to avoid a Fed rate cut.

After looking at the employment numbers, there is no doubt in my mind that the measured language remains. Knowing what we know now, there's no pause in 2005.

It seems like the market is obsessing on this bond market fallout, which was somewhat precipitated by the move to raise (interest rates) in Japan. A lot of the fuel that has been used to invest in this bond market has been derived from 'easy money' in Japan.

You needed to be a meteorologist to make money in this market.

The bond market is still behind the inflation curve. The inflation story continues to chip away at our economy and it doesn't seem to be getting any weaker.

This deal makes sense for both companies. Bank of New York has been expanding in the custodial business and doing a fine job. This shift out of distribution is an ideal fit for J. P. Morgan.

This lends some comfort to the situation. In spite of slight economic weakness, the Fed sees no need to change its strategy. It's also not going to shut down the economy too quickly.

What I worry about is that if the Fed continues to tighten, they could commit the same error they have done every time since 1980 and cause a financial crisis.

Generally, Wal-Mart can give real-time data faster than the government, because they can just pull this off their cash registers.

I don't see any last-day-of-the-year rebound. I think it will be more of the same tomorrow.

The tick up in oil prices hurts, but history has shown that interest rates have a much bigger impact on the stock market than oil. And looking at the ISM services number, you're seeing the kind of gradual, lazy improvement in the economy that's not going to really get rates going.

Gold is creating a psychological dark cloud over the market. With gold on the upside and inflation fears, the numbers we get tomorrow will clarify some of these concerns.

Over the last four years the Fed has played the part of a surrealistic painter, creating a dreamy backdrop with generously low interest rates.

I don't view the market as risky or dangerous even in spite of more Fed tightening. We have enough value in U.S. and international growth stocks. What's holding stocks back right now is uncertainty about interest rates, not valuation.

Between leading indicators and subdued inflation expectations, it's really set a nice backdrop for the market today,

The projected job growth number would mark a pretty strong snapback from the previous month.

It was probably one of the quietest days of the year. We started the day with good news on weaker oil prices but bad news on housing sales.

Right now, we have this positive confluence of earnings and economic news that has been propelling the market.

There's really not a lot of information here to work with, and I think the market's taking a rest.

For the fee-based deal business, it's still a favorable environment. But they also have a huge consumer credit exposure.

Intel signaled that earnings growth is slowing, but we expected that. The real question is how much it's going to slow, what companies are going to get hit, which one's aren't. We'll know more when more earnings reports come in.

Any number Wal-Mart gives is tantamount to an economic indicator,

When you have strong growth and low wages, the chief beneficiary is corporate America.

The employment report is one of the key indicators for figuring out if the consumer can hold on. We're trying to transition this economy away from the consumer, but this potential war is getting in the way. We have to keep consumer spending going until corporate executives are able to make decisions regarding corporate spending.

People are taking some comfort in results and a feeling that the economy is getting better, but there's still some caution. We need to see more evidence of a sustainable recovery. We need companies to start seeing profits more through top-line growth than just cost-cutting measures.

The GDP upgrade could put more pressure on the Fed. At the same time, we're losing ground with the consumer... From the perspective of today's market, it's a one-two punch.

We're no longer in a buy-and-hold environment. You have to be much more active in sector allocation. That's where the future of this business is going.

With light volume, we're going to bounce around like a ping-pong ball. I wouldn't take any moves this week as a clear indication of anything.

Economists are expecting a gradual slowdown in economic growth paired with a slowdown in inflation. That will allow the Federal Reserve to wind up its rate-hiking campaign.

The housing news was the big setback today. While we suspect that housing is likely to slow and thereby take the primary catalyst away from consumer spending, the number came in worse than expected and forced investors to face reality much sooner.

We have some very ugly numbers. You can argue that the ISM is still backward looking, and maybe even the jobless claims, but eventually we're going to need some evidence that the economy is improving. We had a lot of enthusiasm coming from earnings, but the news today is a little bit of a slap in the face that we're not out of the woods yet.

The world assumes the Fed will raise the rates by a quarter percentage point, that's a non-event. It's what the statement lays out about the pace of future rate hikes that will be important, because that's what people are thinking about. I think the inflation reports will also be pivotal next week.