Hugh Johnson Quotations | Page 2

Even though it's a bad time, it's a good time - if you have a taxable account, you clearly want to harvest some of the gains, and offset it with some sales of losses,

Every time (crude prices) move toward $50, it raises serious questions about the economy and earnings in 2005.

Every market sector has a lot of good companies in it.

As the bull market progressed, analysts became more optimistic about next year's earnings. Now, it's the extent to which companies will hit their numbers for 2004 that will make next week so important for the market.

As the transition from the bond business to the stock business takes place, the stock business needs to recover.

Common sense alone says energy is not going to be the leader.

Everything is connected but it is anyone's guess how long the phenomena will continue.

There's no news, nothing I see on the immediate horizon, next week, that would shake the market out of its current malaise or end the summer doldrums. There are so many things to worry about, and investors are therefore sitting on their hands, not making any new, major commitments.

Is the possibility of a tax cut and a rate cut enough to eliminate or neutralized the concerns about the economy and earnings, letting the January effect play out, ... Watch the overall market and if the shift from defensive stocks to economically-sensitive stocks continues, it may be enough to turn the tide.

The worry is that the lid, or the cap, on interest rates is now off.

These are the really important numbers because they give us a first look at January, and they include leading indicators.

The rise in oil prices and concern over the Fed's interest rate policy are very troubling to the market. That's going to present a challenge to this rally.

There will be some early applause from Wall Street, but it will be subdued because there is a long road ahead. It does not signal the end of terrorist attacks both around the world and in the United States.

It was almost a sure bet that the Fed was going to raise rates in June. Now it's almost a sure bet, say 50-50 at least, that they won't move in June.

These stocks are so extraordinarily overvalued, and a lot of debt was built up to buy them. Everybody became a believer and had to be on board.

The stock market rally today is because we drove the market down to levels that were on the cheap side and when you get news like the leading indicators saying things are going to be good for the economy and profits, that attracts buyers.

The stock market has been closely connected to the bond market in the last two weeks, and today's stabilizing interest rates is probably the No. 1 reason behind the gains.

The stock market has become modestly overvalued and investors are using a variety excuses to take money off the table. I wouldn't be surprised if the current, corrective phase continues and the market declines another 5 percent.

The stuff that worked in the fourth quarter and the first part of this year isn't working any more, like Internet stocks, large-cap tech stocks, and other large-cap names.

The simple truth is the economy rebounded from the fourth quarter and was very strong in the first quarter as measured by (gross domestic product). Secondly, based on what we've heard from companies, profit margins should be good.

Technology -- you really have to have exposure there.

Technology stocks have been leaders for good reason. The economy is growing 3.5 percent per year, while spending on information-processing equipment is growing 19.1 percent a year, after inflation. And spending on computers and peripherals is growing at a 41.1-percent rate. Technology is reflecting what lies ahead for the economy.

Technology stocks have been leaders for good reason, ... The economy is growing 3.5 percent per year, while spending on information-processing equipment is growing 19.1 percent a year, after inflation. And spending on computers and peripherals is growing at a 41.1-percent rate. Technology is reflecting what lies ahead for the economy.

Sometime managements are the ones that make the mistake and think they're the ones that are going to survive. They have no perspective and don't understand that sooner or later they're going to go away.

After seeing these reports, it's likely the Fed will...raise rates at the measured pace the market is used to.

The most important thing is that the stock market had declined to levels that were arguably undervalued, and that many aggressive managers also realized there was a great deal of pessimism.

Something has got to give, ... Crude prices will have to come down or there will have to be some assurance on interest rates before the market will be energized.

Speaking of financial markets as a whole --stocks, bonds and the dollar -- 'volatile' is not strong enough a word to describe them.

AOL is one of the big three in Internet shares,

As long as the price of oil remains above $65 a barrel, investors are going to be very guarded and volume low.

That's why I think it's a better idea to have your own portfolio,

You really want to stay with the large-cap (stocks), ... the big names in technology.

This is a market that's become very, very defensive, ... One thing I noticed is a move back to the defensive side.

This has been a very powerful earnings season and that's what's been driving the market.

They tend to be like sheep. They are followers. It's called piling on in football, and I think it's the equivalent. It's unprecedented.

Almost every quarter I can remember people have come up with reasons to explain away earnings gains. The truth is that earnings are doing better, and the hope is that, because earnings are improving, companies will begin to hire and spend money on technology.

Although they were close to expectations and maybe a little bit weaker, the numbers confirm that the economy generally is slowing, ... The report also confirms that the manufacturing sector of the economy is contracting.

Although the expectations we've been hearing indicate a prolonged decision, the markets are telling us that the election will be resolved quickly.

A lot of traders will be circling like vultures, to find the companies that are the target of tax selling.

They are going to be looking back on the last two weeks and noticing the small caps have come back to life.

This market is trying to rally. If the Fed reduces interest rates by 50 basis points, it will touch off a rally, but if we get a rally it will be guarded.

There's been a great deal of turmoil, ... There's widespread bond market pessimism and at the other side of the equation, there's too much stock market optimism.

There's fairly widespread anticipation that the economic numbers this week will be solid, though not great, and I think the market is reflecting that.

There's an old adage on Wall Street: bull markets climb a wall of worry. Needless to say, there are a lot of worries out there.

A company like Sunoco, we know their earnings will be better, but how much better? ... As a portfolio manager, that question stops you.

It's encouraging, but let's not forget that the focus is on the third quarter and beyond, and that looks a little gloomier,

It seems so tied to the price of oil, that it's very hard to forecast what stocks will do next. On balance the message of the markets for the last nine trading sessions, including today, seems to have shifted to say that the price of oil is taking a chunk out of consumer spending.

It's a trading rally, and not much more than that. If there's anything you can hang your hat on, it's that with every passing day, some investors become convinced that there's not going to be any serious fallout or damage to the economy or earnings due to the hurricanes.

It's a big drop, a very substantial drop. The magnitude of the decline is a surprise.

It's bad news for all of the things that have been doing well.

It's a year-end rally in anticipation that there will be some new money coming into the market as we start the new year.

It's an on again, off again market, ... We have good days, we have bad days and we have rotations within sectors.

It's a reasonably accepted conclusion that the Fed will raise rates in both June and August; that's what the market has discounted. I don't know if Friday's employment report will change that, no matter what it says.

It's very cold-hearted, but war has generally been good for the markets and the economy.

It's very clear that higher energy prices are now being passed along to consumers, and it's not difficult to do that when the economy is as strong as it is. This will put additional pressure on the Federal Reserve to continue to raise short-term interest rates.

It's not the stocks you pick, it's the structure of your portfolio that counts,

It's almost as though we're getting a crash, and it's coming at us one stock at a time,

It looks pretty much like it's going to be George Bush. I think it's sort of a sense of relief that that's behind us, and I think more importantly, it's really getting rid of all that kind of uncertainty. But we also know that regardless of who's the winner, we're not going to see much in the way of fiscal policy or fiscal stimulus coming out of the next Congress or Washington.

It's good news that the durable goods orders were stronger than expected, but those are August numbers and probably don't carry that much weight,

It's going to be a fly-by-the-seat of our pants kind of week.

It's foolish to jump the gun. The thing to do is wait until you actually see large caps outperform, because if you don't wait you can be a year early .

It's been a big winner for us and I think it's going to continue to be a big winner,

It's pretty clear that companies have made money and their cash positions are high and this should help the market stage an advance in November and December.

It's uncharacteristic of him to make big-picture investments, ... This whole area -- zero coupons, silver -- when he seems to depart from big companies, he feels uncomfortable, it's not his place?he's sort of saying to himself, 'this is not my cup of tea.'

Does this signal a policy change in Washington?

The numbers across the board were pretty surprising. I would say that improvements in the leading indicators of the economy, like the employment and manufacturing numbers, is very encouraging and indicate that the economy is expanding and not contracting. It also suggests continued expansion into the first quarter.

That's pretty good news because it means investors did not become defensive. They remain optimistic,

That's only the first quarter, and the trend definitely continued in the second quarter.

It's still way too close a race to call, and I think the market will reflect the fact that it's still up in the air,

It's still very painful, and it still requires you as an investor to respond to it.

It's not good news, ... Even though the focus is on the Middle East and oil prices, these numbers clearly are not going to stabilize the markets.

Everybody is waiting for the employment report on Friday. The belief is that the economy is rebounding from the sluggish fourth quarter. We will know on Friday.

Everybody is going to know the same, but it's going to be less. The disclosure of information becomes more carefully managed than the Federal Reserve manages the disclosure of information.

The biggest risk in 2006 is that the Fed will be seduced by worries about inflation into raising rates too high. A lot depends on what the 10-year does and while I would hope that they would take notice that it's going down in yield, the question is whether they will take it seriously or dismiss it.

It's coming from southern Canada. We're in that time of year where even Canada is warming up now. We might make a run at 70 by the end of the week.

It's amazing how the consensus has shifted on Wall Street,

It's a migration toward value as a reflection that investors believe the growth rates of earnings are slowing. It will continue until investors are convinced that the Fed will take its foot off the break, or reduce interest rates.

It's disappointing because usually there is a year-end rally.

It's very hard to make sweeping statements when it comes to technology.

It's very hard to attribute it to an event or release because there is none. I certainly wouldn't attach any significance to it. The professional money managers aren't doing much. They want to take a clear look at third-quarter earnings.

It's too speculative. I hope that we get an correction soon, it's unhealthy.

It's too soon to call it a meaningful trend.

It will eventually slow the growth rate of earnings. Therefore you should own companies with low price-earnings ratios, not high price-earnings ratios.

It will eventually slow the growth rate of earnings,

They come to me because they want special treatment, ... There is nothing that irritates substantial investors more than paying taxes.

These numbers were highly impacted if not distorted by Hurricane Katrina.

Shell Oil has made an offer to Barrett, ... I think they're going to have to make a higher offer to buy the company.

That's a growth stock that is trading at an unusually high price-earnings ratio compared to growth, ... It's being priced as a rather racy e-commerce company. They've done a really good job (of adapting to the Internet) -- that company thinks great, they have a great culture.

Their (Exxon's) profits were very strong, and December personal income was higher than forecast.

The ISM report was good news in two ways. There's a big difference between contraction and a slowdown; and the number still showed expansion.

The consumer price index rise was very modest. It suggests, that inflation is in the process of moderating.

The consumer price index rise was very modest. It suggests, as I think many of us have been forecasting, that inflation is in the process of moderating. The good news is investors can feel somewhat more comfortable about monetary policy.

The consumer price index rise was very modest.

I'm not going to ignore the deterioration in a stock.

I'm not betting anybody's money on the Super Bowl, including my own.

I know we were up 4 to 5 percent in the first to 10 days of the year. But the market's now up 20 percent, just like the fourth quarter.

I'm referred to as a fundamentalist -- a person who cares about company earnings and where the economy is going -- but the truth is I'm a closet technician. I've learned something as we've moved through the bear market: The last people to find out about a problem are research analysts and fundamentally oriented strategists.

Individuals are buying stock with the idea that it will become even more overvalued. That's a sign of speculation.

I like the large-cap technology names. Over a three- to five-year period they are going to be real winners.

If there are lots of other signals of appending recession, take it seriously. But don't hang your hat on the yield curve.