I had a topic in mind for this morning, but my daily jog through the news changed my mind. It seems we have an economic recovery happening, at least from the notion that the global economy is driving us back into a recession. Try as I might, the Pollyanna in me bursts out on news days such as this …
Strong demand for machinery drove up Caterpillar’s profit 44 percent in the third quarter and the company expects even stronger sales next year. It projects revenue next year will increase 10 and 20 percent over 2011 to between $63.8 billion and $69.6 billion. The company is continuing to add jobs – nearly 5,000 between June and September alone.
Caterpillar is, arguably, the premiere global economic bellwether, well, it and GE, and I mentioned GE last Friday. Oh wait, Fed Ex is in that bellwether group as well …
FedEx expects to handle more than 17 million packages on its busiest day of the year in mid-December, as holiday shoppers continue to buy more online. That volume represents a 9 percent increase from last year’s busiest day… Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, FedEx Corp. expects more than 260 million shipments, a 12 percent increase from 2010… and the company plans to add about 20,000 seasonal workers to handle the surge.
The economic road ahead still looks bumpy and uneven, but, for now, the drive is smoothing out after the near collision with the double-dip hole in the road, and it seems more folks who were not driving on the economic road are now. Still, there are many who need a car to drive. That reality will only slowly change, but for now, I welcome the other folks on the road …
Unemployment rates fell in half of U.S. states last month, a sign that September’s pickup in hiring was felt around the country. The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates dropped in 25 states, rose in 14 and stayed the same in 11. That’s an improvement from August, when unemployment rose in 26 states.
Look out ahead, though, the big rock of Europe is right in front of us. Don’t hit any of those policy makers struggling to move it off the road. Just let them do their job, and if they can get it moved this week, or soon thereafter, the economic road will merge with the market road and the combined speed and momentum will carry us uphill to the next plateau …
Okay, I got carried away with the extended “road/driving” metaphor, but my point is clear – economically, things are improving, which unto itself is good news. We still have some ugly potential in front of us, but if the policy makers can move that rock off the road, it looks like clear driving for a bit. Oops, I slipped right back into that metaphor. Sheesh! Writers …
I hope everyone began stocking up (pun intended) when the Chicken Littles were screaming. Don’t forget, when everyone is selling … We’ll get to the other half of that later, but for now …
Trade in the day – Invest in your life …
