Global Courant
Congress remains divided over budget negotiations
Congress remains at an impasse over the federal budget as Republican Party hardliners refuse to budge on further cuts.
The current spending laws expire on September 30. That means if Congress doesn’t reach an agreement by 12:01 a.m. on October 1, the government will shut down. Republicans in the House of Representatives sent the House into recess on Thursday, delaying further developments in the negotiations.
– Yun Li, Rebecca Picciotto
The S&P 500’s third-quarter earnings numbers are improving, FactSet says
Earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to fall 0.2%, falling for the fourth quarter in a row, but the outlook is improving, according to FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters.
The 0.2% decline for the entire index is better than the 0.4% decline forecast on June 30 and would prove to be the smallest during the four-quarter crisis. Meanwhile, a 0.2% decline in earnings per share expectations in the third quarter since the end of the second quarter is far less than the five-year average decline of -3.6% and the 10-year average of -3.4%, according to FactSet.
Eight of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 are estimated to post higher third-quarter profits on a year-over-year basis, led by communications services and consumer goods companies. A decline in profits is expected in three countries, especially in the fields of energy and materials.
Earnings are expected to continue to improve, with S&P 500 earnings rising 8.2% in the fourth quarter from last year, and 12.2% in all of 2024, compared to just 1.1 % in calendar year 2023, Butters said Friday.
—Scott Schnipper
