US earnings season adds weight to Fed's up-beat view

US earnings season adds weight to Fed's up-beat view
Jenny Ruth
By Jenny Ruth May 6 (BusinessDesk) - Corporate America is adding weight to the Federal Reserve's upbeat view of the US economy with about three-quarters of the S&P 500 Index companies that have reported so far beating earnings forecasts. With only about 50 companies still to report, average March-quarter revenue growth is 5.2 percent, above the 4.8 percent forecast ahead of the reporting season. Last week, Fed chair Jerome Powell said economic activity is solid and that the lack of inflation pressures is probably due to “transitory fac...

More Economy

Card transaction data ‘much stronger than expected’:
Retail

Card transaction data ‘much stronger than expected’:

Stats NZ data shows retail spending has grown for five consecutive months.

NZ service sector underperforming globally
Economy

NZ service sector underperforming globally

New Zealand's Performance of Services Index is the only one in contraction among its key trading partners.The BNZ – BusinessNZ's performance index (PSI) fell to 47.9 in December from 49.1 in November.  “Our neighbour Australia is the closest comparison, but their equivale...

December inflation likely on target
Economy

December inflation likely on target

Annual inflation likely around 2.1%-2.2% in the December quarter.

Rebecca Howard 20 Jan 2025
Manufacturing activity has contracted for 22 consecutive months
Economy

Manufacturing activity has contracted for 22 consecutive months

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector contracted in December, marking the first time in the survey’s history that all 12 months were in contraction. The seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) for December was 45.9, up from 45.2 in November but still well below...

Rebecca Howard 17 Jan 2025