Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email. It’s increasingly obvious from conference calls that inflation pressures are building in the economy. Management teams in a wide variety of industries are talking about rising input costs and a “very, very positive pricing environment” in 2018. For whatever reason, securities prices suggest that most ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.Earnings season is wrapping up and retailers are the last to report. The environment was described as a “perfect storm” and “hyper-competitive” with no signs of slowing down. Retailers are trying to move into omni-channel and putting on a good face, but “the definition of loyalty in the retail busines ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.Earnings season began to slow back down this week. Most of the important companies have now reported, so this week’s post draws heavily from a handful of calls. The economic picture remains unchanged. There’s still a lot of optimism, but fundamentally GDP growth has been anemic and policymakers haven ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.The Dow hit 22,000 this week but the commentary that we’re reading is less exuberant than the market would suggest. Many CEOs are relatively subdued about the environment. Considering that nominal GDP growth is below 4%, maybe that shouldn’t be too surprising.A lot has been made of earnings growth thi ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.Although sentiment has been very positive this year, the hard data hasn’t tracked the optimism, at least not yet.  Some of the comments on this week’s earnings calls seemed to reflect the fact that this still isn’t a robust environment.  Weakness in auto manufacturing is particularly concerning since ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.The first week of earnings season showed a continued abundance of optimism.  Expectations have definitely risen for the economy.  Curiously though, expectations have not risen for interest rates.  Citigroup’s CEO mentioned that he only expects one rate hike per year through 2020.  Banks were prominent ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.Earnings season started this week, but only with a few reports. Many more companies will report next week. A couple of industrial distributors, MSC and Fastenal, confirmed that the industrial economy is holding strong. Prices haven’t moved yet, but probably will if the economy continues to improve.Whi ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.The two most powerful people in America, Janet Yellen and Donald Trump, each were in the spotlight this week.  Yellen testified before Congress, where she directly said that the Fed still wants to raise rates three times this year.  She still sounds like she lacks conviction though, which is probably ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.For most of this bull market bearish sentiment has been consensus. Even while the market has risen, it’s been easy to hold a negative view, and most people did (including me). Recently those negative voices have been fading though. In fact, they have been so drowned out that when I saw a CEO warn abou ..read more

Each week we read dozens of transcripts from earnings calls and presentations as part of our investment process. Below is a weekly post which contains some of the most important quotes about the economy and industry trends from those transcripts. Click here to receive these posts weekly via email.Optimism is running high and animal spirits are real, but economic activity hasn’t caught up quite yet. Still, businesses are making plans to invest and spending can’t be far behind. Corporate America is positive on Trump.  Is that positivity enough to spark inflation?The Macro Outlook:The animal spir ..read more