For such a simple man please tell me what we have learned Supertramp

Earnings season is in full swing, with a myriad of companies reporting yesterday from all walks of life. Defence, technology, logistics, medical, aerospace, and consumer companies delivering the results of their labour to the market from the past quarter. It also included 2 of the mag 7 in Tesla and Alphabet. Most are delivering on expectations; FactSet will provide an overall update at the end of the week. If one sector provides an insight into the overall state of the global economy, it is probably logistics, as they ship stuff around the world in cardboard boxes. UPS missed by a wide margin. “Our revenue came in just short of the low end given the current volume momentum we are now experiencing in our business,” UPS Chief Executive Officer Carol Tomé said during the company’s earnings call. Alphabet’s revenues came in better than the market expected and 30% above the last quarters, proving why it’s in so many portfolios. On the other hand, Tesla fell short of expectations as the stock fell in after-hours trading.

So Kamala Harris is now confirmed as the Republican candidate for the upcoming US election, replacing Mr Biden. Mr Trump is apparently furious that Joe has pulled out at the 11^th hour. You can imagine he is, s his triumphant return to the White House has been made slightly less sure than it seemed a few days ago. The run-up to the election may be a bit more interesting than it may have been a few weeks ago. According to an Ipsos poll released overnight, it had Kamala Harris ahead. The Fed’s job could now made even harder.

We await the results of the monthly flash purchasing manager surveys later today. The UK economy was expected to continue expanding last month, and the composite index combining services and manufacturing is expected to rise again. Rachael Reeves stood up in parliament yesterday, criticising the previous Chancellor for the mess of the economy she inherited. Without apparently saying what part of the economy she felt was in a mess. If she is referring to public borrowing, it may be worth pointing out that the government’s balance sheet remains essentially where it was when Labour last left office after bailing out the banking system, when I believe she was working at the Bank of England. If you tell everyone enough times that the economy is a mess, they will eventually believe you, I suppose. Her boss has publicly put his name to achieving an economic growth target of 2.5%, well ahead of any economist projections. I wonder who will take the blame if they fail.