Michael Sheldon Despite Quotations

Despite terrorist events around the world, rising oil prices and a lukewarm job market, consumer spending has remained fairly strong, much better than many would have thought. But if the economic data starts to slow and oil rises above $60 a barrel, that could eat into consumer spending.

Despite the Democratic National Convention, the biggest story of the week has been energy prices. That's prevented the market from seeing a bigger rally off these oversold conditions.

February has historically been a lackluster month for the stock market. Despite many positive corporate earnings reports, investors should be prepared for some choppy or sideways trading over the near term.

When all was said and done, the market showed its resilience once again, ... The market performed well despite today's extremely weak consumer sentiment number. Investors seem to be looking over a softer economy for the next few months towards a stronger economy to start 2006.