New York Times (February 24)
“Investors often see Berkshire as a bellwether of the American economy, given the breadth of its business.” Marking a sharp reversal from a $22 billion loss in 2022, the conglomerate recorded net earnings of $97.1 billion in 2023, “its highest-ever annual profit last year.” Moreover, “Berkshire also reported $37.4 billion in operating earnings, the financial metric that Mr. Buffett prefers because it excludes paper investment gains and losses, for the year, up 21 percent from 2022.”
Tags: 2022, 2023, Bellwether, Berkshire, Conglomerate, Economy, Investment gains, Investors, Loss, Net earnings, Operating earnings, Profit, Reversal, U.S.
New York Times (September 16)
“Pessimism is deepening as bellwether companies like FedEx and General Electric warn of worsening economic and business conditions.” On Friday, stocks declined, “ending one of the worst weeks of the year for Wall Street.” This may just be the start of bad news. “A parade of prominent investors and corporate executives made it clear that they believed the worst was yet to come for the economy and financial markets.”
Tags: Bellwether, Business conditions, Corporate executives, Economic, FedEx, General electric, Investors, Pessimism, Prominent, Stocks declined, Wall Street, Worsening
Markets Insider (April 7)
Investors are punishing transportation stocks “in the face of sky-high fuel prices and slowing growth.” Since hitting a November high, the Dow Jones Transportation Average has fallen 20%, “the technical definition of a bear market.” Often seen as “a bellwether for the health of the underlying economy, the index is comprised of “transportation stocks, from logistics companies such as FedEx and UPS, airlines, to railroad operators like Union Pacific.”
Tags: Airlines, Bear market, Bellwether, Dow Jones, Economy, FedEx, Fuel prices, Investors, Logistics, Punishing, Railroad, Sky-high, Slowing growth, Stocks, Transportation, UPS
Institutional Investor (April 10)
“Despite a turbulent few years…. the auto industry retains its role as a bellwether of the global economy. Thus, recent findings that environmental factors are increasingly shaping the future prospects for many automakers will have profound implications for investors.” Increasingly those car makers taking “climate factors the most seriously are the best set for future growth.” Investors should take note that “policy responses to climate change are driving technological disruption that will have serious investment implications across many sectors.”
Tags: Automakers, Bellwether, Climate change, Disruption, Economy, Environmental factors, Future prospects, Growth, Investors, Turbulent
