If the Economy Is Shaky, Why Are Company Profits Still Strong?
Consumers are gloomy, the economy is shrinking, the Federal Reserve wants it to keep slowing and economists now say the whole world could be sliding toward recession.
At the same time, a lot of strong numbers are still coming out of many large American companies, which have been releasing their quarterly earnings reports and discussing their outlooks with Wall Street.
“We had an outstanding quarter,” Stephen Squeri, the chief executive of American Express, said after the company reported record revenue. “As our second-quarter results demonstrate, we have a lot to be proud of,” said Christopher Nassetta,...