Alan Skrainka Quotations

So many Americans are consuming by using their home equity. If you can't afford a standard mortgage, you probably shouldn't be buying a home.

Maybe it's concern that the economy may have more of a hard landing. The economy grew a little faster than expected, so people might be thinking we're not done as far as interest rate hikes are concerned.

If the economy is growing, companies' earnings are growing and that moves the market.

What you have going on in this market is a flight to quality, which is the blue chips, as tech stocks are priced to perfection.

We may be entering a recession here. So if I owned a small business, I would pay very close attention to controlling costs and develop a contingency plan.

I think investors should take a step back and look at the big picture. I think the (Fed) is doing its job and investors should do theirs -- avoid those companies that do not have a track record of growth.

I think the market remains hypersensitive to these (economic) reports. You should stay focused on your long-term goals and not short-term economic reports, but the market continues to be dominated by fear, uncertainty and confusion.

I think the performance gap between the new-economy and old-economy stocks is like a rubber band; it seems to be snapping the other way. The new economy sounds very exciting, but you're still going to need food, medicine and electricity to survive.

I think all these reports taken together are going to paint an economy that is too hot. Labor costs are rising and that is beginning to lead to some signs of inflation.

I think it was a very volatile and directionless week. Investors should tap on the brakes a few times and strap on their seat belts. (Last week) was very earnings driven, and now it's shifting and people are going to focus once again on value.

I think this is one time the Fed is behind the curve.

Over the last six years, we have experienced the largest drop in price/earnings ratios in the history of the U.S. stock market, going back to 1871. 2006 has the potential to be a great year for stock investors.

Long-term investors know this (rate cut) is a green light to get back into the market.

I think people are looking for good value in the market and they're finding it in 'old economy' stocks. What these companies have in common is they're all viewed as great companies at a strong price that are not dependent on a slow economy.

I think politics are a sideshow right now. We think the best thing an investor can do is step up their buying gradually as prices move lower.

I think people placed bets today based on (the data). By buying stocks today, you are assuming we won't get bad news tomorrow.

It has nothing to do with the economy. It was in the private equity unit where they tried to help fledgling tech companies get started.

Maybe investors are realizing there's more to the economy than technology.

There has been a lot of s elling that has taken place and you see so many analysts that are throwing in the towel. I think when investors wake up three or so years from today, they are going to look back on this time as a buying opportunity.

We think they do have a great pipeline in the areas of cardiovascular, cancer and AIDS. These are the fastest growing areas in the pharmaceutical industry.

We feel we can do a service to our customers if we just get the overall trend right. We don't really practice technical analysis or try to guess the price points next week. But the trend does look like it's higher, because the Fed now is probably shifting into neutral earnings are very strong. And because the Fed acted promptly they ensured we would have another year of solid growth next year. That is what the market is anticipating.

We think, in the short run, psychology drives the market but in the long run, fundamentals drive the market. We see very low inflation and no inflationary pressures. We think, going forward, expectations have come back down in line with fundamentals and we won't have the pressure of Fed rate hikes over the next 12 months.

(U.S. companies) now have to compete against this flood of cheap Asian imports.

Earnings have been fantastic. Any weakness in the market you've got to attribute to (the) rising interest-rate environment.

There's still a lot of concern about slowing personal computer sales and reduced corporate information technology purchases.

They already made an investment decision prior to the rule change being official.

The word for 2001 is look for opportunities. There are problems in the economy but they have gotten aggressive responses from policy makers.

The signs of slowing are few and far between. I think it's really the data between now and (the next meeting) that will determine whether it will be a quarter percentage or half percentage point hike but I think it would be confusing not to raise (rates).

Technology is still the fastest growing segment of the US economy. Earnings are growing at 20-30 percent year over year, and US companies lead the world in almost every major category.

Techs were hot and everything else was not on confusion about the future of interest rates. When the interest-rate picture is cloudy, the focus turns to earnings. And earnings in the tech sector have been good.

People are waiting for the Fed. I think the Fed will leave rates alone, probably say that the risks are tilted toward inflation and people are also saying they'll come back in August and hike again.

Albertson's is truly a value stock, the third-largest grocery chain, with a very stable predictable business with 29 years of higher earnings. The stock was really clobbered since they announced a merger last year that didn't quite work out. But it's still a wonderful company, at 10 times earnings.

You're seeing a return to traditional measures of value as investors become more focused on things like (price-to-earnings ratios), interest rates and earnings.

The valuation gap between old economy stocks and new economy stocks is getting wider and wider. To me, it's like a rubber band. You can only stretch it so far and eventually it's going to snap back.

This economy is facing a temporary setback. What it's going to take is time.

There's cautiousness about the interest-rate outlook --- a bit of consolidation after very strong gains.

It's just been a very quiet day. Nobody wants to make a big bet prior to tomorrow's decision. People are pretty convinced that the Federal Reserve won't make a change to rates but they want to see the statement. It doesn't make a lot of sense to make a big commitment today when you have such an important meeting tomorrow (Tuesday).

It's just the nuttiest argument that I've ever heard -- this whole idea of old economy versus new economy assumes that we're all going to be sitting around in the dark, naked and hungry, surfing on the Internet. The idea that you don't need food companies or companies like Procter & Gamble anymore is just nuts.

It's a very unusual day for the Dow Jones because IBM and J.P. Morgan accounted for more than half the drop. We've got a lot of fear in the market place and that's going to continue. We don't know where the bottom is, so just stay the course. There's so much uncertainty and investors have so many questions that they just sell stocks.

It's the same story. Technology is hot, and everything else is not.

It just reflects Wall Street's manic-depressive mood. In the meantime, you have some selective cautious buying, but I think people are much more cautious and not just jumping in on any dip.

It looks like the threat of breaking up the company has been taken off the table and is beginning to fade.

It's a very cautious market. We're saying take a step back from the day-to-day and look at the big picture.

The next major event is Microsoft's response, but I don't think that's significant. It's significant but not to the technology sector as a whole.

The bond market was so weak all day that it pushed the broader market lower. Investors weren't talking about if the Fed will raise rates, but how much.

Take IBM out and the market looks pretty much unchanged on the day.

It's (Johnson & Johnson) very reasonably priced, relative to its prospects, and while J&J may be at a yearly high, again, we think it is pretty close to its five-year low, if you are talking about the next five years.

The rest of the market continues to struggle with reports that continue to show the economy is too strong.

Small business owners have a great stake not only in what's going on in the stock market, but what's happening in the overall economy as a result.

The Fed often overshoots and I think you have to prepare for that outcome.

Individual investors have to separate the statistical noise of week to week numbers and focus on the big picture.

I'm hopeful that we're nearing the end of this series of tightening. I don't think we have a serious inflation problem. With strong productivity, unit labor costs are under control.

If you read the speech, he seems to imply that those hikes aren't enough.

Investors are very concerned about the short-term prospects for the economy, and that's why they are selling stocks.

Investors are focusing on Greenspan and the fact that he said they (the central bank) had increased rates four times and it did little to slow the economy. He is saying more work needs to be done.

Investors took advantage of the sell-off Friday to add to their portfolio. There are some good values with the blue chips.

Clearly, Microsoft is the catalyst for today's tech sell-off.

I do think the majority of Alan Greenspan's work is done.

I don't see people making big commitments. It's a holiday weekend and there's just no catalyst to get things going.

I don't think we can read anything at all into it. It's a lack of conviction and a lot of fence-sitting.

The economy is way too hot and is generating inflation pressure. And the Fed is going to have to address it with higher interest rates.

The easiest thing is to be bullish when the market is rising and bearish when the market is falling. But as we all know, that's not how to make money in the stock market.

The market has done well in the year following a recession. We think the recession has ended.

The market is nervous. We're in a transition period as we get through all the accounting issues.

The last seven 'bear' markets -- if you measure a bear market by a 20 percent drop -- have quickly forecast economic recessions. For people with 90 percent of their net worth tied up in a small business, it bears watching.