U.S. Corporate Profits Unexpectedly Fell in Q1
Q1 U.S. Corporate Profits (revised) came in at -1.7% QoQ to $3.93 trillion, vs. +3.9% expected and +3.7% in prior quarter.
Profits from current production decreased $21.1 billion in Q1, compared with an increase of $133.5 billion in Q4. Profits of domestic financial corporations rose $73.7 billion in Q1 vs. an increase of $5.9 billion in Q4. Profits of domestic nonfinancial corporations dropped $114.1B, compared with an increase of $136.5 billion in the prior quarter.
Also, In Q1 2024, unrealized losses on securities held by commercial banks increased by $39 billion from Q4 to a cumulative loss of $517 billion.
Rest-of-the-world profits rose $19.3 billion vs. a decline of $8.9 billion in Q4. In Q1, receipts rose $29.8 billion and payments increased $10.5 billion, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said.
Fed's Favorite Inflation Reading Highlights Last Week of Q2
Friday June 28 will bring investors the May reading on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, which should show prices on a "core" basis — which excludes food and energy — rose 0.1% last month
OPEC+ Sees No Peak Oil Demand Long Term, Secretary General Says
OPEC+ members are cutting output by a total of 5.86 million bpd, or about 5.7% of global demand.
Non-Farm Payrolls Mislead: The Labor Market Is Weakening; Inflation Is Falling
The big economic news of the week was the +272K rise in Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) (released on Friday, June 7).
