April 25, 2011
You'll be hearing in the media about these indicators over the next few days:
New Home Sales
Consumer Confidence
Durable Goods orders
Fed Open Market Committee Interest Rate Decision
Gross Domestic Product
Personal Spending & Income
Retail Sales
Expect mixed signals. Expect earnest concern from media talking heads. Expect much fuss and bother from Wall Street. But much of the data released in those reports come from estimates and surveys and amount, in some cases, to studied attempts to read economic tea leaves.
A better way to get a sense of our economy's direction is to look at corporate earnings. This week we'll hear from Kimberly-Clark, Coca Cola, Allstate, Exxon Mobil, Caterpillar, and Merck, among others. Expect strong results. Expect increased dividends. Expect a clearer picture of where our economy is going. Hint: if you're an investor, I expect you'll like what you hear.
GTC
(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp. The author's opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities).