Larry Wachtel Earnings Quotations

So far the earnings season is kind of a mixed bag. It's not the catalyst that everyone was expecting it to be. Nokia was disappointing, Apple was positive and Citigroup is in the middle. We're still waiting for IBM,

We have good earnings today, but there's just too much good economic news. We're increasing the likelihood of a rate hike in June. The data are coming in stronger than expected, so the Street is expecting another hike. The better the news, the more likely the Fed will tighten. It's a strange phenomenon that good news can be bad news.

Earnings statements will make or break the market this week. I'll be watching the reports coming from some of the technology names, because I think that sector may lead the way this year.

Once we get to April and the first quarter earnings are reported -- and I think they're going to be pretty good -- (that) could be helpful. I doubt if you'll get anything out of the Fed meeting.

The basic problem this week has been the arrival of third quarter earnings and the non response,

The key this morning is the 10-year note hovering around a yield of 5%. This news trumps any economic or earnings data. It's a rate-driven market, even with oil competing for headlines. Any weakness we may see will be due to these bond yields.

Cisco reports earnings tomorrow (Tuesday) and certainly that stock is at a price where there may be a split.

The earnings numbers are still respectable, but they are softening. The psychology is that you can't make projections about future earnings without having some sense about where the price of oil is going and what the consumer will do.