After a sluggish vaccination campaign and slow start to a recovery, Europe’s economy should rebound sharply in the next few months and begin to catch up with the U.S. and China, according to IHS Markit surveys of purchasing managers. (See “Investors Glum on Global Growth But Bright on Europe,” Trends Journal, 20 July, 2021.) At...
Tag: jul 27 2021
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POLL: TODAY’S CHILDREN WILL BE POORER THAN THEIR PARENTS
Sixty-four percent of adults across 17 countries believe their children will live in worse financial condition than their parents, a new Pew Research Center poll has found. In the U.S., the proportion was 68 percent; in France and Japan, the belief is held by 77 percent of people responding to the poll. Baby Boomers largely...
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COKE’S PROFITS SPARKLE: GOOD AND BAD
Coca-Cola’s organic revenue in this year’s second quarter was 37 percent more than the same period last year, also rising above 2019’s revenues for that quarter, and profits grew 49 percent year-on-year to $2.6 billion, the company reported. Sales volume increased 17 percent in North America, 12 percent in Latin America, 16 percent in Asia,...
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SALES DOWN AND PRICES UP AT CONSUMER PRODUCTS COMPANIES
Sales were down 3 percent in this year’s second quarter at Kimberly-Clark, maker of such consumer staples as Huggies and Kleenex. Home-care products brought in 17 percent less revenue, year over year. Sales of personal care products rose 6 percent and commercial products 2 percent. Margins slid 40 percent, more than analysts were expecting. The...
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CEOs TO WORKERS: BACK TO THE OFFICE – NOW
Several large corporations are mandating white-collar workers to return to offices starting after Labor Day or, in many cases, right now. Abbott Laboratories wants virtually all U.S. office workers back at its Chicago headquarters this month; in Pontiac, Michigan, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) already has brought almost all 9,300 employees back to its 200-acre campus....
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WHEN WILL FED END CHEAP MONEY POLICY?
At this week’s U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, the Banksters will discuss when to begin tapering off the central bank’s $120-billion-a-month bond-buying program, and raise interest rates now that the nation’s economic recovery has allegedly blossomed more quickly than they had forecast at the beginning of this year. The cheap money scheme, which began in March...
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PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS TARGET $5 BILLION IN RENTAL HOUSES
Toronto-based Tricon Residential Inc., which owns apartment buildings and about 25,000 rental houses across North America, has partnered with Pacific Life Insurance, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and an unnamed foreign investor to buy even more houses. The three will contribute as much as $1.55 billion to the new effort, which will combine with...
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HOME SALES, PRICES STILL RISING
The number of U.S. home sales grew 1.4 percent in June from the month before, and 22.9 percent year over year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. The median price of existing homes sold set another new record at $363,000, gaining 23.4 percent over the median in June 2020. Houses sold in June were...
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U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS TICKING UP
New claims for unemployment benefits jumped to 419,000 in the week ending 17 July, the highest number since 15 May, according to the U.S. labor department. Auto makers laid off workers as the computer chip shortage persisted, idling assembly lines, The Wall Street Journal reported. The number was far above Dow Jones’ estimate of 350,000...
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DOLLAR GAINS AGAINST RIVAL CURRENCIES
While the dollar weakened a bit today, the U.S. Dollar Index showed the buck’s value hovering near its highest value of the year last week, compared to six other major currencies. The dollar closed the week at 92.91, just below its 30 March high of 93.30 this year and well above the low of 89.44...