Posted on 01/11/2009 4:41:52 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
arnings look grim, again
With fourth-quarter's pain widely known, 2009 outlooks come into focus
By Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:11 p.m. EST Jan. 9, 2009 Comments: 742
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For any company not tied to consumer must-haves like health care and groceries, earnings in the fourth quarter likely made the same swan dive as the broader economy. "Fourth-quarter earnings are going to be a disaster," said Philip Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, which manages $344 billion in assets.
In the quarterly reporting season that gets its unofficial start Monday, analysts polled by FactSet anticipate earnings for S&P 500 companies fell 12%, dragged down by profit drops or outright losses from auto, retail and materials companies.
But investors may take quarterly results as so much old news, putting what companies say about the coming year into sharper focus. If outlooks change, they will likely change for the worse.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Stupid gimmick will strike at PR-offices of corporate world again.
Ping!
Rhom Emanual said never let a good crisis go by.
I would think that the current problems will be used as cover to clean up balance sheets and for human resources to dig out all the dead wood and get rid of it.
This means more deflation then. Companies hoard cash and people hoard cash which means less demand for goods and services. The stimulus, rate cuts and bail out cash just sits on the sidelines.
There is going to be another leg down on the US indices once people get a handle on the earnings potential. I am thinking that the S&P is going to come in less than 50 for the year so we can fall at least 20% from where we are right now.
..........This means more deflation then......
You may be right. In the longer run however there is going to be inflation. The only way to handle the deficits in state and federal budgets is to inflate them away.
The trick will be to manage the rate at the maximum tolerable rate for as long as it takes.
Inflation is the tried and true solution to the king’s money problems
Dang, us CEO's just can't win with some people. We guess high and everyone cries that we were understating the problems. We guess low and they say we're hiding something.
No problem, because even though profits may be down 20% from 2006, they're still one and a half times higher than they were in 2000 --even after inflation.
“...and for human resources to dig out all the dead wood and get rid of it.”
So, there IS a Silver Lining! ;) Unproductive people bug me, and they’re costly to the Bottom Line. Unproductive people that are employed by the business simply because ‘Daddy owns it’ bug me even more...but they’ll be the last to go.
Inflation is going to reemerge at some point but no one knows when. As long as there is declining demand and output there is nothing to worry about on that front. When it starts to come back then look out.
phoenix must be an anomaly. Restaurants, stores, traffic — still packed.
That's the snow bird effect...spending the inheritance, so their grandkids can qualify as low-income on the college application form.
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