Profit of S&P500 companies highest in last 4 years-driven by international operations

Discussion in 'Wall St. News' started by ASusilovic, Jul 25, 2011.

  1. While the U.S. economy is struggling, U.S. corporations aren't.

    A third of the way through the second-quarter reporting season, earnings at companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index are the highest in four years, according to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt, who predicts the second half will be even stronger. Yet there is little indication that the strong results will jump-start the U.S. economy and get the millions of Americans idled by the recession back to work.

    About three-quarters of the companies that have reported so far have done better than analysts expected. Many of them—ranging from manufacturers Honeywell International Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. to drug maker Abbott Laboratories—raised their earnings forecasts for later in the year.

    Corporate profits—one of the few areas of strength in the limp U.S. recovery—appear to be weathering the economy's soft patch. But the gains in many cases have come from international operations, particularly in emerging markets that aren't struggling with the debt problems and other uncertainties that have consumed policy makers in the U.S. and Europe.

    "We aren't creating jobs," said Paul Huck, chief financial officer of Air Products & Chemicals Inc., on a conference call with analysts and investors Friday.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...674770.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hps_LEFTTopWhatNews

    Maybe time for Americans to move to Asia in order to find some jobs, or? :cool: