All the big effects of the hurricane didn't happen.

The idea that they would pay a dividend was a changing of the guard.

For the companies, to bring the money back at this rate was a no-brainer, ... Even if they were not planning to make use of the money immediately, when faced with the option of tapping the funds at a 5 percent tax instead of 35 percent, most of them just decided to do it -- it makes sense.

For the companies, to bring the money back at this rate was a no-brainer. Even if they were not planning to make use of the money immediately, when faced with the option of tapping the funds at a 5 percent tax instead of 35 percent, most of them just decided to do it -- it makes sense.

Investors want it; institutions want it, and companies are starting to react.

In the first quarter, people made the mistake of looking at how a few groups did as indicative of the whole sector, ... For this period, you really can't do that.

The cost of oil will likely still be pretty high, consumer spending is slowing down, and it'll be tax time.

It'll downshift just a little bit. But there's nothing wrong with that. You can't expect 20 percent profit growth forever.

It's still very good growth, considering. And again, there's nothing wrong with repurchases.

It's going to be controversial because it introduces a lot of volatility.