| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : NOVEMBER 8, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| NEWS: ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
On Course? CORPORATE PROFITS Third-quarter earnings--running 21% ahead of last year's--show that business is keeping up with the pressures being exerted by rising energy costs and tight labor markets. PRODUCTIVITY Strong quarterly profits indicate that companies are still improving efficiency. That makes it less likely that the Fed sees strong growth as inflationary. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE Are consumers becoming more cautious? In October, consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month, with a larger number of consumers expecting the economy to slow over the next six months. INTEREST RATES Yields on 30-year Treasuries jumped as high as 6.4% in October, a sign that the markets are already expecting a third quarter-point hike by the Fed. STOCK MARKET While somewhat volatile on a daily basis, the market may have settled into a trading range where many experts say it could remain until yearend. HOUSING Housing starts and existing home sales are showing increasing weakness with mortgage rates above 8%, although the slowdown in both is off historic highs. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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RELATED ITEMS Can the Fed Hit Its Mark? TABLE: On Course? INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
