“If the economy recovers quickly, the 10-year rate could be 5.2 percent even earlier than what they're projecting, and it could be 6 percent in the coming years.”
“People are looking towards their remarks about how the economy is doing, and I think they will be more specific on that. The Fed will probably tailor its remarks to build the expectation that it will be a while before they raise rates.”
“If consumer confidence holds steady, and consumers spend the money from tax cuts, and once business see a clear sign of a rebound in sales, then around September or October, they're going to budget and change their targets for capital spending. Then, it takes a couple of months to hire people and get set up.”
“Right now, the worms are just an irritant, but there are a lot of weird things happening -- worms, bomb blasts [in Baghdad and Jerusalem] -- that are not good for the morale of executives. If that takes a hit, the much-vaunted recovery in business investment might get delayed.”
“You can't convince a CEO there won't be another war, especially when we've had two in the past two years. It's not a conducive environment for investment.”
