Happy America day: Earnings are around the corner
To most of us its known as the Fourth of July. If you have ever traveled to or met someone from another part of the world. they have likely called it “America Day,” and to be honest, I prefer the latter. Regardless of race, gender or religious affiliation, its one of the few holidays everyone in the country observes and hopefully appreciates, and I think it ought to have a more appropriate, prideful nickname.
I’m on the train headed to Boston for the weekend and I thought I’d throw in some thoughts on the past week and a look ahead to the most pivotal time for the market.
Well, Bernie was sentenced to 150 years this week, and I wish he could live the full sentence out and then croak on July 1, 2159. At the same time it’s not out of line to say capital punishment laws should be amended for crimes like this. Money isn’t everything, but we sure need it to live and I couldn’t imagine working decades and being robbed worse than if it were straight out of Oceans Eleven. Some poor guy explained during the trial that he was once very comfortable and now has to bring cans and bottles to the store for a nickel. Happy America Day, Bernie.
The stock market has been pretty stale, making its biggest move in a while after “disappointing employment numbers” on Thursday, dropping 2.5 percent. It’s surprising to me that people think it’s a disappointing reading considering it’s inevitable we are headed to double digit unemployment (9.5 release for June Thursday).
A series of events I think everyone should be paying extra attention to begins next week. Second quarter earnings begin next week with metal giant Alcoa (AA). These earnings are the most important in a really long time. First quarter earnings saw some improvement (and beat analysts low balled forecasts —see my first post). If second quarter earnings are further improved it will signal a true turning point for our economy.
The opposite can and will be very damaging, a huge stumbling block that Wall Street will surely pay attention to. In a recession, the round of earnings following a positive quarter can make or break investor sentiment, so watch your investments closely the next few weeks. Stayed tuned in the coming weeks for more in depth earnings analysis. In the meantime, have a few drinks and be safe this weekend.
