Marketplace Index for Monday, February 6, 2012
With a fairly light week for economic data, investors have started focusing on a subtle shift in corporate profits. More than half the companies listed in the S&P 500 have already reported their earnings for the fourth quarter, and about two-thirds of them beat expectations. Sounds good, right? But that's less than in recent quarters. We talked with Brian Gendreau, market analyst of Cetera Financial Group. He says it's unrealistic to keep expecting profits to go up, up, up. And the Daily Pulse is down on news that, despite a record-breaking year for holiday spending, toy giant Hasbro reported profits fell in the last quarter of 2011.
With a fairly light week for economic data, investors have started focusing on a subtle shift in corporate profits. More than half the companies listed in the S&P 500 have already reported their earnings for the fourth quarter, and about two-thirds of them beat expectations. Sounds good, right? But that’s less than in recent quarters. We talked with Brian Gendreau, market analyst of Cetera Financial Group. He says it’s unrealistic to keep expecting profits to go up, up, up. And the Daily Pulse is down on news that, despite a record-breaking year for holiday spending, toy giant Hasbro reported profits fell in the last quarter of 2011.
