Back to the complete issue
Monday, 11 July 2016

Investors look for dividend plays as U.S. companies expected to post fifth straight quarter of y-o-y profit declines

US jobs recovery may not be flashy, but it’s strong -FiveThirtyEight: US employers added 287,000 jobs in June, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, beating forecasts of 175,000 jobs. FiveThirtyEight’s Ben Casselman thinks the conventional interpretation of the numbers, that the US job market tanked in April and May and is starting to recover in June is incorrect. Rather, he argues “job growth [is] gradually cooling but remaining basically strong.” Casselman also argues that while it is still too early to tell Brexit’s impact on US manufacturing, “the so-called Brexit led to a sharp increase in the value of the [USD], which could hurt US exporters… the decision could also damage the overall global economy, further slowing trade.”

Brexit and Bank of England set tone for markets this week -FT: The FT (paywall) picks up where Casselman’s points on the payroll numbers and Brexit, saying that the positive jobs report has “only intensified the search for yield via bonds and dividend paying shares” in developed markets. Meanwhile, the Bank of England is expected to announce a rate cut on Thursday, and US companies are also expected to report “their fifth straight quarter of year-over-year profit decline — the worst stretch since the aftermath of the financial crisis.”

Oil price outlook continues to remain low: The Baker-Hughes Rig Count showed last week that the number of global rigs is increasing, with the total number of rigs in North America alone increasing to 521, up from 507, according to Yahoo Finance. Along with indications from the US Energy Information Administration reporting that inventories are more or less flat, no recovery in oil prices is expected for the foreseeable future, “with supply and inventories still at significantly higher levels.”

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.