Today's Data Dump -- And -- Your Q4 Earnings Update

Unlike last Wednesday -- where I green and red-dotted the day's releases -- this morning's data dump was less than inspiring.

While I suspect that the coronavirus sneaks into these data a bit, no doubt much of them predate the outbreak:  click to enlarge...



The most concerning being the monster decline (-35%) in Japan's machine tool orders; considered by many economists to be an important indicator of global economic health. The 4% decline in Eurozone industrial production has our attention as well.

What is like last Wednesday's post is the character of Q4 earnings releases. I.e., growth rates contracting in all the wrong places --  Energy, Materials, Industrials and Consumer Discretionary:

click to enlarge...