|
Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow futures fall as US-Iran tensions flare up again to shutter Hormuz Yahoo! Finance CanadaMarkets shudder as Strait of Hormuz starts resembling a combat zone. 'We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire' FortuneDow futures fall over 350 points as Iranian war tensions escalate: Live updates CNBCUS Futures Fall, Oil Jumps as Iran Tensions Worsen: Markets Wrap Bloomberg.com
|
|
At Yahoo Finance, you get free stock quotes, up-to-date news, portfolio management resources, international market data, social interaction and mortgage rates that help you manage your financial life.
|
|
The Iran war may or may not be nearing a conclusion. But as far as the stock market is concerned, it's no longer been worth worrying about.
|
|
Investors have plenty of worries - chief among them inflation and a potential recession. But the engine that ultimately drives the stock market is corporate profits. As long as earnings growth stays on track, then corporate America—and by extension, your stock portfolio—remains on solid ground.
Which is why the recent earnings preview from FedEx (FDX) was so unnerving. While the official report for the quarter ended August 31 comes out Thursday, FedEx warned on September 15 that it would have bad news, with quarterly results severely impacted deteriorating economic trends in Asia, Europe and the U.S. FedEx stock was immediately penalized, and is down more than 20% since this pre-announcement.
The key question for every investor is whether the shipping giant is suffering from a company-specific malaise or whether FedEx's problems are a broad-market bellwether portending widespread doom. "FedEx is no ordinary economic actor, as its business literally touches every corner of the global economy" says Sheraz Mian, director of research for Zacks, an investment research firm.
A Downgrade for FDX
Analyst Colin Scarola, at investment research firm CFRA, suspects that part of the problem at FedEx is that it failed to adjust operations in its Express division (50% of revenues) as more international passenger flights, which transport some air freight as well, came back online after the pandemic-related slowdown, raising competition. "We don't doubt that some of the poor performance is related to ongoing global economic headwinds and high inflation worldwide. But the extent of the decline at Express leads us to believe that poor operational execution is also at play," says Scarola, who has
|
|
