Succinct Summary: Q3 earnings season kicked off in earnest this past week with several banks reporting. Most companies noted that the US consumer is doing very well. Consequently, the US economy has a solid grounding, despite the slowed down global growth. The surprise move to zero brokerage commissions was unexpected by some. The impact has been accelerated flows into ETFs and brokers adjusting to the reduced revenues by trying to cut costs to maintain margins.
Succinct Summary: The construction and manufacturing sectors continue to feel the heat of weakening global growth. Some of the tariff increases are making their way to consumers and the heightened global uncertainty is making retailers nervous and customers cautious.
Succinct Summary: The fundamentals of the US economy are strong with confident but cautious consumers. The trade war is causing trade flows to shift causing margin pressures as companies struggle to reposition containers and compete for the remaining business.
Succinct Summary: The global economy appears sluggish with pockets of bright spots like consumer spending. Some are worried that Europe might be headed for a recession and others are concerned that we are near the top of the cycle. All in all, the economy keeps trudging forward at a slackening pace.
Succinct Summary: Global growth has slowed and some companies think that the dark clouds of slow growth will linger with us a bit longer. Others are revisiting their playbook in the Great Recession just so as to be prepared if a downturn happens.
Succinct Summary: Earnings season has slowed but many companies are speaking at conferences for analysts and investors. The energy industry is underperforming, but overall, the US consumer is doing very well.
Succinct Summary: There are mixed signals about the direction the economy might take from here. Several companies are prepared for a downturn as they investigate what happened in the Great recession: The contact lenses industry grew and the recreational boats industry rebounded quickly.
Succinct Summary: It’s been a slow week in earnings. The main highlight was the meeting of central bank governors at Jackson hole where the Fed chair acknowledged that the US economy is characterized by weak growth, weaknesses in manufacturing and stable inflation. Elsewhere, retailers have noted that in-store pick up resonates a lot with consumers. Significantly, CEOs expanded the focus of a company to beyond just serving the shareholders.
Succinct Summary: Most CEOs seem to agree that we are experiencing a slowdown, but not a recession. The fundamentals are strong with high consumer confidence and healthy consumer spending. Weaknesses in manufacturing persist though.
Succinct Summary: The Federal Reserve cut rates this week while suggesting that this may be a one-off cut. The US economy is healthy with the economic expansion expected to continue.