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U.S. companies have been finding it much easier to deliver earnings "beats," or profits that are higher than expected, as analysts on Wall Street continue to trim their forecasts for earnings growth. However, they might have also come to realize that beating earnings expectations alone is not enough to help their stock prices.
PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), the maker of Lay's potato chips, Quaker oatmeal and its namesake, Pepsi-Cola, is projected to report lower second-quarter profit as the food and beverage giant struggles to offset rising ingredient costs and marketing expenses with price increases.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, is expected to report strong second-quarter profit as resurgent sales of construction machinery in the U.S. and ongoing global demand for mining equipment offset weakening sales in Europe, China and Brazil. The impact of acquisitions will also play a part.
In a fairly light week of data, Friday's first take on the U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product will be the main event. Economists expect a feeble reading of 1.4 percent. This will be the final major data point to influence participants at the July 31 - Aug.1 meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
Next week's barrage of earnings releases offers further guidance on the health of U.S. companies.
The barrage of earnings releases this week offers more insight into the health of U.S. companies. Among the 19 percent of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings so far, 65 percent have beaten expectations, slightly better than average since 1994, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The golden age of being a banker is so far in the past. After a brutal year of massive layoffs in the global financial industry last year, the axe is starting to fall again.
The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits rebounded last week after a seasonal auto-plant retooling period caused a steep drop the prior week.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economic activity increased at a "modest to moderate" pace in June and early July as more districts are reporting slowing growth.
The recession and housing crash have triggered a sharp decline in the share of American households who own their own home. Homeownership, which is at its lowest point in 15 years, is bound to fall even further, driven by tight credit, lackluster economic growth and more foreclosures.
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