Larry Wachtel Street Quotations

The abbreviated week will bring with it a rash of economic numbers, culminating in the May job figures on Friday. The Street would like to see some signs of a slowing economic pace so as to assuage the inflation junkies on the Federal Reserve.

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.

These surveys give regional snapshots, and that's all they do. I'd never even heard of the Empire State survey until recently -- and I don't think you can build the case that Wall Street sits there panting, waiting for the results.

This is all promulgated by overseas markets. We started with the festering Asian situation, Russia then spilled over into Latin America, and Wall Street has trouble dealing with all these overseas situations.

It was a respectable day. But after the (Fed) decision tomorrow, I think we can do better. I think the Street is braced for a no-rate-cut, no-rate-hike move from the Fed.