William Hummer Quotations

I'd characterize third-quarter stock performance as disappointing and event-driven, although it was understandable why the market reaction was what it was,

I expect there will be improvements in the trade balance and business investment and in inventories so that the overall pace of activity will accelerate in the third quarter,

If the Fed is right and the economy continues to expand, we'll see that happen and see it reflected in the earnings for the second half.

Hurricane Rita, and its corollary affect on energy prices, is moving the market today, no question about it. Uncertainty is poison for the market.

I think the likelihood of gaining is reinforced this year because we've gotten to an oversold condition due to all the negatives that have weighed on stock investors,

I think energy stocks will flatten or worse, ... I'm not looking at the sector to tank, but I don't think it will hold the same appeal for money managers as it has in the previous three quarters.

We're entering a seasonal period now, pre-Thanksgiving, pre-December holidays, where we often see a stock advance,

There are a tremendous amount of investors who are very happy with the floor system, ... That is not to say that over years advances in technology and efficiency won't change that. My perception is that the change will be glacial, not abrupt.

There are a combination of forces which could be positive, on net. The market's been held hostage by the election and Iraq, and those may at least temporarily fade as preoccupations if better economic news takes hold.

We see the Fed easing as a flu shot that will help prevent recession in 1999, but fixing the global problems that underlie the markets' malaise will require major surgery. So basically, I think the market sees through this as a temporary boost, but there are fundamental problems that aren't yet resolved.

There's no end in sight as the Asian crisis will go on for years and this is having a major effect, ... It will trim earnings probably more substantially than many economists expected.

The services sector is showing some inflationary pressure, and wages are starting to climb.

The strength of the economy since the beginning of the year has been an embarrassment to forecasters. There is much more momentum than most people recognized.

The third quarter earnings have been fairly well received and I think there will be anticipation that fourth-quarter earnings could be better than expected,

That's what's probably bringing the market around. Low interest rates and sustained growth will bring estimates that corporate earnings over the coming year could very well be up 8 or 9 percent. That will sustain the market for the coming months, until year-end.

This is a disconnect; job growth is psychologically and practically the core of what's happening in the economy. In sharp contrast, the oil price is volatile. It's certainly not meaningless, but it's subject to so many variations that it doesn't have the same importance.

There's an enormous supply of funds awaiting employment in equities.

It's a good time for those who are inclined to take gains to realize them now if they're going to do it anyway -- I don't think the market's going anywhere for a while.

Stocks that have minimum exposure to higher interest rates.

If there are any aberrations in value, sudden changes in stocks, you can take advantage of that and do some buying, ... Sometimes it happens in a vacuum that, when volume dries up, some desirable equities can be adversely affected in the short term.

Intel gave us a good preview of the quarter, but oil suffocated the positive news.

The first half of the year was impacted by pessimism about oil prices and the threat of a soft patch, ... But I think there's been a change in terms of expectations. I look for the S&P 500 to gravitate higher through the rest of the year.

The main point is that the Asian shock is creating deflationary pressures throughout many commodities as well as energy, so I think this is long-lived,