Dampen Quotes

With revenue growth slowing, Ballmer has tried to squeeze more down to the bottom line to make the company more appealing to investors... Even the cuts that seem trivial have dampened morale. Just whisper the word 'towels' to any Microsoft employee, and eyes roll. Last year, Microsoft stopped providing a towel service for workers who used company locker rooms after bike rides or workouts. Employees who helped the company build its huge cash stockpile were furious. And don't even mention stock options. Employees long counted on them to bolster their salaries. Microsoft minted thousands of employee millionaires as the stock climbed 61,000% from its 1986 public offering to its peak in 2001. Now shares are trading exactly were they were seven years ago. Microsoft has doubled its payroll in that time, adding more than 30,000 new employees, not including attrition. That means more than half of Microsoft's employees have received virtually no benefit from their stock holdings. - Jay Greene

While prices at the pump have yet to impact confidence, further increases could dampen consumers' mood. - Lynn Franco

While consumers claimed business conditions were more favorable in March than last month, they also claimed jobs were less readily available. The labor market not only continues to dampen consumers' present-day spirits, but it is also making them less optimistic about the short-term outlook. - Lynn Franco

While concerns about the impact of rising interest rates will be a frequent theme of discussion in the press and financial markets, homebuilders and realtors are confident that favorable demographics and an improved economy/job market should help, at least for a while, to compensate for the dampening effect of the upturn in borrowing costs on housing demand. - Steve Stanley

While a portion of this strength is due to unseasonably mild winter weather, it is obvious that higher interest rates are, so far, having little dampening impact on construction. - Steven Wood

When rate increases are demand-driven, meaning there are other, positive influences going on -- job growth, demand picking up, etc. -- in that case, the effect of higher interest rates is a small dampening, rather than one that puts the economy at risk. - Michael Moran

When Goings went out, that really dampened things for them. Then they have to be one-dimensional and that plays right into our hands. - Grant Wistrom

We expect to see continued, although slower growth in housing. Higher interest rates will tend to dampen home sales somewhat. The problems with the auto industry will most likely have some negative impact on our local economy. However, the positive initiatives happening at Purdue and in the Purdue Research Park may tend to offset any negatives from the auto industry. - Bill Connors

We expect increased supply of lumber into the U.S. in 2006, particularly from Europe, and that should dampen prices. - Hank Ketcham