17 Oct 12:54

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Although the economy seems to be improving, the slow pace is "worrisome," said Chuck Hill, director of research for Thomson First Call.

"The pace is much more gradual than had been thought earlier this year," Hill said in a CNBC interview Thursday.

Earnings are improving sequentially and will continue to do so in the fourth quarter. But first, analysts' fourth-quarter views need to come down "a significant amount," he said.

"The improvements (are) on a glacial pace here," Hill said, noting that a sharper pick-up in earnings is usually seen prior to a market rebound.

On a sector-by-sector basis, technology companies are among the worse off, and much of the revenue growth in the tech sector has come through cost-cutting, Hill said. Commodity cyclicals, such as paper and chemical stocks, have also been hurting, he noted. Consumer cyclicals have been the strongest, Hill said, but certain companies in this sector, including General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F) and Sears Roebuck & Co. (S), have warned on the upcoming quarter.

"The reversal in the consumer cyclicals is worrisome," Hill said.

Hill owns shares of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM).

-By Amy Braunschweiger; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2205

(END) DOW JONES NEWS 10-17-02 12:54 PM

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