Jim Paulsen Quotations

What little earnings reports we have had have been a little bit more disappointing than outperforming, for the most part, so that's weighing.

The fact that oil broke close to US$60 today caused a drop in S&P 500 energy stocks.

When I look around the globe outside the United States I see nothing but a huge bull market going on wherever you look. We're sitting here in the United States and looking at flattish markets and thinking things are not so good.

On net this is not going to be a big event economically. People initially went to the big impact it was going to have, all predicated on the idea that oil was going to go a lot higher (than it has).

One of the central characteristics of this entire global recovery is the outsized impact of these new economies. That's one of the reasons why growth has remained strong in the U.S. and profit trends have been remained positive, so if there is any inkling that we are at the front end of slowing that down, that's going to make a dramatic difference.

It gives you the sense that maybe this earnings cycle is going to be like the rest, where it starts out like it's going to be terrible and it ends up looking good, ... That's been the pattern for eight quarters.

I think that (the terror alert rumor) was most of this ... it's already rallying back.

That certainly is going to fan a little inflation fear here, and going forward it will at least keep people on the watch a little longer on the idea that the Fed is going to keep tightening.

It all hinges on whether the Fed tightening slows the economy and causes a recession.

Thus far, the Fed seemingly has no bite. Normally, when the Fed has raised short-term rates, long-term yields have also risen. Not this time.

Yields seem to have found a high. Taking bond yields up every day has been a tough one for the stock market, and the fact it would pause is good news at least in short run for stocks.

We might see a little pause for assessment on stocks next week ahead of the jobs report. From now on, stocks will rise only if investors continue to believe, just like the Fed, that the economy is solid and may absorb higher rates.

Earnings have been growing faster than stock prices. We've continued to have a cheaper and cheaper market.

Even at the open, we knew it was just going to be Libby, and if nothing else, at least the uncertainty is gone.

There's a fairly consistent theme running through all of the markets, which is tied to the idea that the Fed is nearing the end of the tightening cycle. It was the combo that the Fed's done and the import price number was down.

Of the small handful of companies that have reported, the disappointments that came out were due largely because costs were higher, and here we've got oil, the No. 1 catalyst that caused that, jumping higher again.

Consumers are stepping aside, and manufacturing and other business sectors are stepping in. The U.S. business sector is looking very healthy.

Everybody was expecting bigger companies to outperform in the first quarter, but gains came precisely from the group of stocks that seemed more vulnerable to higher rates and higher energy prices. This tells me that they may very well beat the rest of the markets again in coming months.

It's amazing that in the fourth year of recovery, companies are still reporting double-digit earnings growth.

In the last few months, the consumer statistics, in aggregate, are better than anytime in the (recovery).

You certainly see a market throughout which is reflecting rate worries.

The headline thing today is oil. It's within striking distance of a new high. It adds more fear about how much the economy could slow.

You've got some real core pressure in the pipeline. By and large that certainly is going to fan a little inflation fear here.

You've got commodity prices and the cyclical stocks getting hit and all of that happens when people start to question whether the interest rates are biting.