Alan Ackerman

I think gains in the market have outrun fundamentals. The move has been too much too soon. I see the likelihood of a pullback next week.

The market has done well in the last few weeks, ... Generally speaking, the market is a bit overbought. We just have to be patient and let the market give back some of its gains.

They pay a dividend that's very, very attractive and they've had growth that's outperformed the SP 500.

I think it's a constructive move. He's an experienced hand who is clearly effective in dealing with bright, energized thinkers. I don't expect the Senate to have many problems with this nomination.

The promise of a cut in interest rates before the year's end is a safety net under the market.

However as we come closer to the next Fed meeting, and hopes are that the Fed will cut interest rates, we might have a relief rally.

The U.S. economic recovery appears to be further down the road than many expected, so another cut in interest rates is not likely to mean a great deal, ... What's more important is when companies report they're starting to see a reduction in inventories.

The big question making the rounds now is How does one really judge value and are strong first-quarter earnings (expectations) already factored into technology stocks

We're almost worn out with earnings. So many have surfaced of late.

It's OK to buy on the dips but it's not OK to commit much money at this time, but we are seeing signs of stability.

I think for the moment the big chains are running like elephants. They tend to be behind the cheetahs and the panthers. I think they lumber along, and I think this is not necessarily the time to move. I think the turnaround isn't going to be as routine or orderly as you might expect. I'd want to stay with the strength right now.

This is still a time to be reasonably cautious. The durability of rallies leaves lot to be desired. People need to be selective in what they choose to buy, and they need to be more internationally aware than they were before.

With a market as nasty and negative as it is at the moment, there's little room for error. The Nasdaq has contracted very sharply in a short period of time. Its drop in a year is approximately 60 percent, but this is not representative of all companies that are publicly traded.

Rate hikes bite different sectors of the economy at different rates. For example, one of the key areas that was hit hard and appears to be slowing down is housing. Consumer spending will take some time to slow down, maybe three to six months out. But in any case, what the Fed is targeting is GDP of 5 percent this year and a GDP hopefully next year of closer to 4 to 4-14 percent.

Retail investors appear to be slower to commit funds to the market this time, ... The market's momentum and volatility has caused some investors to step aside as the market has worked lower.

That has helped the techs today (Wednesday). They have a reasonably upbeat forecast.

Greenspan's comments did little to build confidence, ... The main catalyst today was to back away from risk and try to buy a bit of stability.

The public is in a semi-shocked state and cash remains on the sidelines on Wall Street despite everything being on sale, ... The main downside pressure seems to be continued earnings disappointments in the tech sector and we had downgrades today that were troublesome.

We had an indication today that the unemployment numbers may be up a bit. Lots of eyes will be on the employment numbers tomorrow (Friday) with the hope that the jobless market will ease just a bit and price pressures may ease along with them.

Once again, it's anybody's guess next week. It would not surprise me to see people sell on strength, take a little cash off the table and wait for the markets to stabilize.

The biggest bull market in history still appears to be intact, ... Although the market is up tenfold since 1982 and lots of wealth has been created, there are still buyers to be found on market pullbacks.

The world is looking for lower interest rates. Clearly, the psychology world-wide remains highly nervous.

The market next week is anybody's guess. World nations are watching the United States.

What you've got now is world markets whipsawing. It's a letdown, not a meltdown.

We're still early in the game. I think what we saw was a rally that we've seen before over the last few years. We've had big one-day rallies that didn't really show any sustainability -- so my hope is that the market will hold here.