Corporate Profits Hit 18-Year High

[The Straight Story]

Corporate Profits Hit 18-Year High

Profit margins are expected to climb nearly 9% this year among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, marking an 18-year high.

The third consecutive year of the bull market will see profits increase 8.9% in 2011, which would be the highest level since 1993. That’s good news for investors, who could see higher dividends. Bloomberg reports that of 380 companies in the S&P that pay dividends, 378 are projected to maintain or increase them.

The situation is less encouraging for non-investors. Back in that banner year of 1993, the unemployment rate fell from 7.3% to 6.5%. According to the most recent figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is 8.9%.

http://www.allgov.com/Where_is_the_Money_Going/ViewNews/Corporate_Profits_Hit_18_Year_High_110317

[HereSince1628]

1. Great times for the Robber Barons...like we hadn't noticed.

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[RB TexLa]

3. One would hope we are more efficient in 2011 than we were in 1993

[CanonRay]

4. I'm sure it will trickle down very soon

[AllyCat]

5. Good news for investors and even worse news for us.

And if you have a 401K or pension invested in that, the profits won't be for you.

[DCKit]

7. If you don't like it, just join the investor class. How hard is that?

:sarcasm:

Personally, I think the market is totally rigged and stopped playing about seven years ago.

[SpiralHawk]

6. "Too bad about you Americans. Sneer." - RepubliCorp, Inc.

"Why don't you little people just eat shit and die. Sneer."

- RepubliCorp, Inc.

[OwnedByFerrets]

14. Farking idiots

[PA Democrat]

8. They need tax breaks!

:mad:

[LWolf]

9. while the gap widens. nt

[livvy]

10. Profit Margins at 18-Year High Signal Bigger Dividends Coming For S&P 500

This is from the link you posted. The highlight is mine.

Record earnings fueled by the highest profit margins since 1993 are giving executives more leeway than ever to boost dividends as the bull market enters its third year.

snip


“The economy seems to be doing well and earnings are on the recovery path, which companies wanted to be sure about before they raised their dividends,” said John Carey, a Boston- based money manager at Pioneer Investments, which oversees about $250 billion. “I feel relatively confident that most of the dividends out there are secure, and we’ll see some fairly broad based increases.”

snip
Record Profits
Analysts say S&P 500 profits will rise 16 percent this year and surpass $100 a share for the first time in 2012, helping persuade executives at companies from CBS Corp. (CBS) to Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) to boost payouts. U.S. companies increased stock buybacks in 2010, making it the fifth-biggest year for share repurchases since at least 1985, according to Birinyi Associates Inc. With $76 billion announced, February was the best month for buybacks since December 2007.

CEOs are spending more on shareholders after stockpiling cash since 2008 when the financial crisis eliminated profits. They bought back $325.8 billion of stock in 2010, more than double 2009’s repurchases, Birinyi data show. About $191.1 billion of takeovers in the U.S. have been announced so far this year, on track with last year’s $198.2 billion as of March 11, according to Bloomberg data.

more

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/profit-margins-at-18-year-high-signal-bigger-s-p-500-dividends.html

[deacon]

11. And for us? A trip to the grocery store leaves you broke. n/t

[bullwinkle428]

12. Yet they still want a 5-year tax holiday as a job-creating incentive!

:banghead:

[Brewman_Jax]

13. Of course, there's no corporate taxes

if the corporations paid even a fraction of the tax they owed, there probably wouldn't be a deficit.

[Patiod]

16. +1

[CommonSensePLZ]

15. Of course. /nt