Economic Beat: Financial News
How will current market developments affect you? The thought leaders at Fifth Third Bank can help make sense of it all. Listen to the Economic Beat as they discuss what happened last week and what they expect will be the focus of this week. Click the button below to listen or read the transcript to this week's Economic Beat.
Past Economic Beats
September 9, 2024
Largest domestic companies post solid earnings growth
Domestic equities finished their worst week in eighteen months as labor market related uncertainty sparked economic slowdown fear. The August nonfarm jobs report pointed to additional signs of a softening U.S. labor market and added volatility to the financial markets. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.3%. Second quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are largely complete with the largest domestic companies posting solid earnings growth, suggesting strength and resiliency in the domestic economy. The second quarter will mark the highest year-over-year earnings growth rate reported by the index since second quarter 2021. It will also mark the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth for the index. In the week ahead, investors will be digesting a slew of both economic and corporate earnings data with the release of the August report of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and releases of wholesale pricing, consumer credit, small business optimism, and initial jobless claims this week.