Financial Times (August 28)
In the U.S., “corporate profits have hit a record high while workers’ slice of the pie has sunk to historic lows, fuelling discontent among many Americans and a growing political backlash.” In this tale of two cities, corporate “pre-tax earnings hit an annualised $4.8tn in the second quarter, or 18 per cent of national income… the highest share since the aftermath of the second world war.” Meanwhile, “employees’ share from wages and benefits fell to 60 per cent, the lowest level since the 1950s.”
Tags: $4.8tn, Benefits, Corporate profits, Discontent, Employees, Historic lows, Political backlash, Pre-tax earnings, Q2, Record high, Sunk, U.S., Wages, Workers, WW2
New York Times (September 8)
“Even by August’s typically volatile standards, markets have been especially choppy this month, with some of the biggest intraday stock swings of the year occurring over the past week.” Earlier in the year, corporate profits allayed investor fears, helping to “drive an impressive rally in the S&P 500. But this quarter has been more mixed, as multiple companies warned of declining consumer demand.” We may be approaching “the end of ‘fun-flation.’”
Tags: Allayed, August, Choppy, Consumer demand, Corporate profits, Intraday, Investor fears, Markets, Mixed, Rally, S&P 500, Stock swings, Volatile
Wall Street Journal (June 15)
“Despite some CEO grumbling, businesses have thrived under Biden. Stocks are near records, corporate profits are up strongly, inflation has come down and the economy has so far managed a soft landing despite aggressive rate increases from the Federal Reserve. Industries like energy that appeared to be at risk from Biden’s policies have thrived.”
Tags: Biden, Businesses, CEO, Corporate profits, Economy, Energy, Grumbling, Inflation, Records, Soft landing Fed, Stocks, Thrived
New York Times (May 1)
The collapse of First Republic “stopped short of derailing the broader market, with markets focusing instead on corporate profits and the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates.”
Tags: Broader market, Collapse, Corporate profits, Derailing, Federal Reserve, First Republic, Interest rates
Wall Street Journal (November 25)
In the U.S., “the pressure on corporate profits may last longer than expected.” Many have attributed the contraction in corporate profits to temporary trends, namely “the weakness in the commodities sector, which is ravaging profits at energy companies, and the strong dollar, which is putting pressure on multinationals.” Though reassuring, “the problem with those dismissals is that oil may not be done going down, and the dollar may not be done going up.”
Tags: Commodities, Contraction, Corporate profits, Dollar, Energy, Multinationals, Oil, Pressure, Trends, U.S.
