Corporate America continues to churn out record profits in the face of a weak economy, as the ongoing second-quarter earnings season demonstrates.
Despite solid earnings, stock exchange traded funds have been stuck in a range as investors look for clarity on the U.S. debt ceiling and the Eurozone crisis.
Earnings from U.S. blue chips such as McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) are booming. Yet broad market ETFs such as SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEArca: SPY) have been lackluster although they remain in positive territory for 2011.
Companies are posting record profits after slimming down and cutting costs in response to the financial meltdown, but analysts want to see more from the top line: revenue. [S&P 500 Second Quarter Earnings on Track for Record]
Although Wall Street has shown signs of improvement, it’s a different story on Main Street. Unemployment is at 9.2%, and and job growth and wages are impaired, reports Paul Wiseman for the Associated Press.
“I’ve never seen labor markets this weak in my 35 years of research,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, in the report.