The United States has catapulted back to the top of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness report, tumbling from number one back in 2008. Keep in mind, this report card is from the ultimate globalist organization, which makes it even more impressive.
The interesting point of the report is its criticism about freedom of the press in a nation, where most of the press is at war with the most powerful person in the country. There isn’t a lot of time between retractions from overzealous reporting, including the most recent story claiming President Trump praised Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The United States was also penalized for having fewer women in the workplace, even though European countries have such low birth rates and an aging population that everyone must work, and every border door must be revolving.
However, I will say we should pay attention to the negative health rating, but not the socialized medicine part. The obesity and opioid crises are real and getting worse.
The methodology of the report has been freshened up to focus on entrepreneurship and dynamism.
Enabling Environment | Markets |
Institution .13 | Products .3 |
Infrastructure .9 | Labor 1. |
ICT adoption .27 | Financial 1. |
Macroeconomic stability .34 | Size 2. |
Human Capital | Innovation Ecosystem |
Business dynamism .1 | Health .47 |
Innovative capability .2 | Skills .3 |
The Message of the Market
It was a tug-o-war session on Wednesday that exhibited a lot of spunk, considering the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 319 points at the low of the session. All major equity indices finished fractionally lower, setting up more indecisive sessions.
The Dow made a 50% retracement from last week’s sell-off and could pull back to test the low. Conversely, there are buyers at lower levels that have put a bid beneath the market to mitigate the downside.
After the close, Alcoa (AA) posted a massive earnings beat, and management announced a $200 million dividend – its first since 2007.
Today’s Session
The market is looking to get off to another choppy start, which is better than crashing out the gate. Still, we are waiting on clear cut trends to emerge as an investing theme.
Coming into the week, financial releases were living up to the hype. But the hype was a high bar, and few companies have blown away the street.
- 69% beat on revenue
- 86% beat on earnings
- 19.1% earnings per share growth highest since 1Q2016
This morning the following companies beat and gave solid gui
- BX
- ERIC
Also coming into the week, corporate America has spoken about their greatest hurdles. You might be surprised that tariffs come in as the fourth biggest negative. Strong dollar, raw materials and wages are bigger issues. Interestingly, the dollar, while higher since start of the year, has been much stronger in recent years.
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