joining us is chris overback. good to see you. thank you so much for joining us. what about those loans and the slowdown we are seeing. is that emblematic of what is happening in the economy. >> in our segment of the market we focus on companies that make between $3 million. our backlog is pretty large. activity in that marketplace is very robust. what we are seeing is a vibrant economy in that segment of the market. as to the broader market. there may be seasonal factors. it's hard to say. but certainly the core growth metrics seem to be on track. maria: you are looking at valuations in the stock market of close to 19 times earnings. you are looking at figured income with rate at record-low levels. do you want to buy stocks here? >> throughout history stocks have been a good place to be. there have been some very bad moments. but over time stocks are the place to be. no matter what happens, the management of companies will figure out how to adjust. it's a question alternatives. do you want to be in long-term bond at low rates or in a stock where the management ca