First-quarter announcement season is now more than 90% complete, and I am happy to report that the S&P 500’s sales are up 5.9% and earnings are up 2.2%, which is a stunning surprise, since the analyst community had predicted negative earnings growth and 4% sales growth. Accelerating sales growth is a sign of overall GDP growth and a likely sign that we’ll see positive surprises in upcoming quarters, too.
Treasury rates dipped below 2.4% last week. The lower rates go, the more aggressive the corporate stock buybacks will likely be. On Thursday, The Wall Street