Joseph Battipaglia Quotes (37 Quotes)

Today's ISM services number was a disappointment. The economy can't improve if the only sector expanding is the consumers. And now the mixed retail result is raising concerns there, too.

I think it is a quarter of a point move up, but a neutral stance by the Fed, opening up the way I think for a big rally for the rest of the year,

We have a lot of difficulty with the telecom service sector, ... It looks like the bad news is localized in that company and that sector. We're at a point where most of the major shocks have been had and the market action today, after the gains over the last few days, is very constructive.

The bond market still believes that the Fed is an inflation fighter, the bond market still believes that there really isn't inflation today, and they applaud the moves by the Fed to be ready for future,

Oil prices at these levels are providing all kinds of dislocation issues for stocks. Earnings and the economic data are O.K., but with oil where it is, the market is unable to make a decision, long or short, and there's certainly no real catalyst for buying.

Whenever companies come out with warnings, it reminds investors about the perilous nature of the earnings environment at the moment,

I like the retail group as a whole because now Wall Street has soured on these companies, ... They're worried about the consumer vitality. But don't forget we have an election coming up in November. That actually stirs confidence, interestingly enough. This could be another good Christmas season. Also this summer, we may not see a drought for most of the country, which means people's spending on home and hearth might be a little better than it was last year when it was so tough outside.

What's going to be positive here is delivered earnings, a fairly bright outlook for the second half by corporations, and a growing comfort among investors that perhaps the tightening initiative by the Fed is coming to a close,

The market anticipated a very weak third quarter. There was concern this would roll over into an on-going problem. Once we have evidence that it is not and the third quarter comes in a little better than expected, that will be the basis for the next leg up,

It's still a situation where fundamentals are decent, but the pressure of the continuing high oil prices and a profit surprise, like HP today, persist,

I think the good news is that the current quarter is OK, and the challenge is going to be what comes next,

What happens with Iraq is very important in January and February to pretty much set the tone for how the economy will fare for the rest of the year. So when we have that answer, then you can get your market direction. In the meantime, you essentially move sideways.

There are two things that got this rally started late last week -- short-covering and an expectation that this (war) action will be brief, ... If this war is executed right, you could see a bounce off the action, but it's going to remain volatile this week with so much up in the air.

Clearly, it's all about the economy. The consumers are doing their part . Now the business side has to come along, too. That's why today's soft ISM number was so disappointing.

CPI data was benign but the data was prior to Hurricane Katrina, ... Still, no one is quite sure about what the Fed is going to do going ahead. So the market is not showing much conviction.

The techs on balance have put in a fairly decent performance, ... We're getting a sense that there's a bottoming going on in the semiconductors. Some of the bellwether companies like Cisco are talking about a better environment in the future.

Lower interest rates increase discount financing for consumers. Also, the Republican sweep of the Senate and the House last week is construed as a positive because it's also seen as a win for market-friendly fiscal policy ,

The devil's in the details. The key deadline for Iraq is Dec. 8, when it will have to come clean about what they have by means of weapons of mass destruction. It remains to be seen whether the United States and the U.N. are satisfied with those explanations.

Between very high short-interest looking to cover, fairly good economic news, signs the Fed is staying put and better earnings on the way, people are very eager to get in right now, ... I think that barring a terrorist attack or some very disappointing earnings, the market looks like it's going to continue to gain through the next few weeks.

The big-cap technology leaders are doing reasonably well, ... I still believe technology companies will provide leadership. They will be followed alongside by pharmaceuticals and financials.

This earnings season, instead of getting a ripple effect on positive news, you're seeing that particular company's stock react, but very little spillover, like with IBM today. The negative news has tended to spill over to the rest of that sector, and in some cases, the broader market.

I think you have a lot of people reluctant to make commitments ahead of that payroll number,

I think gold is not the right place to be right now, ... The dollar and U.S. Treasuries are now the safety valves.

I don't see them getting much worse than 6-14 percent on the long end, ... The overall bond market is not completely convinced that we're going to see meaningful higher interest rates. Something is going to give here, and my sense is that the Fed is not going beyond this second cut.

It's a good start to the quarter, ... We're at the lower end of the recent trading range, so there's probably more room to gain.

The real story is how well the U.S. economy is performing, ... Brazil is important, but I think we're seeing the end of the emerging markets crisis, not the beginning.

But if you step back, it seems to me that we're still in the trading range we've been in for some time. There's still the push and pull between rising earnings and rising interest rates.

I'd have to see some significant production cuts and some pain from the producers before I would even take a nibble at it.

Investors have come to understand that the progress in the war on terrorism will influence the economy in 2002.

The positive tone has more to do with the economic data that showed some signs of life in the economy. We've got through the Enron debacle and some selling that represented investors looking to lock in profits earlier on, ... Now we're starting to get a serious picture of what next year looks like, and it's probably the first serious step toward an upward move in the market.

We're at a point where there is some rotation, but I believe it's a very positive development because you're getting broader participation on the economically sensitive sector because, the fear of recession is going away and the deflation fear is gone, ... Business Day.

The PeopleSoft news could make it more likely that the Oracle deal will go through. And after all the recent downgrades, people are probably relieved to see a brokerage lifting its view on the chip sector.

I'd say we're doing very well, all things considered, ... Clearly, there is more money available out there, when even sectors that are fairly stretched, like tech and banks, are doing well today.

We continue to be in this trading range, at the lower end right now, ... The only catalysts that can get us out of here in the next few weeks is some relief at the pump, lower oil prices and news about how much the Fed is going to raise rates.

I think there's a real lack of commitment in the market right now from both institutional and individual investors,

The PC business isn't going away. It has become more competitive. But International Rectifier is positioned beautifully, with power chips for the laptop marketplace, which is a strong area. It is depressed like all the others in semi, so I'd want to own it.

My guess is you're going to get back into this sort of stutter-step approach to the market. Clearly the leadership here has stalled after the run-up from the October lows.