We had a lot of bumpy reports in the second quarter and we shouldn't have. The economy and production were very strong in the second quarter, and earnings should have been on the upside. The fact that they weren't is an important signal.

We're going to have awful earnings reports for the second and third-quarter so we have to brace ourselves for that. To make a sustained rally, we need to see economic news and earnings news start to turn positive and we don't see that happening until the fourth quarter.

We're still three-to-four weeks away from second-quarter earnings reports and there's nothing really to light a candle under stocks,

Second quarter was forgettable,

The second quarter seemed like a blur.

Second quarter earnings are very likely to be satisfactory in aggregate. A number of visible companies have warned of disappointments, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Earnings growth will probably be in the high-teens range when everything is tallied up.