corporate earnings
U.S. economy picks up in Q4 2011Posted by RJ and Makay on Jan 27, 2012 |
>> Read More RJ & Makay Blog Posts
The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2011, short of economists’ forecasts but at a stronger pace than the 1.8% gain in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of last year, according to the Commerce Department. A Bloomberg survey of 79 economists had made a mean forecast of a 3% rise in Q4 GDP. For all of 2011, the economy expanded at a rate of 1.7%, down from 3% in 2010.
Executives at Standard & Poors 500 companies are buying back their company stock at a pace not seen since the latter part of the financial crisis in 2009. Sixty-six insiders at 50 companies bought shares between August 3 and August 9, the most since the five days ended March 9, 2009, when the S&P 500 sunk to a 12-year low, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
As year-end earnings reports come in, one thing seems clear. Large U.S. corporations generally did very well in the fourth quarter and 2010 as a whole. Furthermore, 2010 is shaping up as the best year for large corporations in more than a decade, with especially good results occurring in the telecommunications, energy, and financial sectors.
