Another Day, Another Round of Corporate Losses

Another day and there's another bunch of losses being piled up by large corporations. The numbers aren't good.

Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE/JCI) just reported a larger than expected loss in its latest quarter and warned about the future. This company is hurting because it manufactures and sells a lot of components to the automotive sector.

Also, take a look at what consumer electronics makers are saying. Sony and Samsung are saying that they are experiencing a profound slowdown in all their business lines, with flat panel televisions really taking a hit.

Let's not even get started on the financial sector. Virtually every large-cap U.S. bank is reporting losses and is in need of capital to shore up their balance sheets. There's no doubt that the current recession is going to be deep and pervasive and will last all of 2009 at the very least.

The stock market doesn't look very healthy either. The bear market rally was substantial, but I fear that the market has resumed its downward trend. It wasn't too long ago that, if the price of a barrel of oil dropped, the stock market went up. This circumstance is all but gone, as the stock market now has other things to worry about. Oil below $40.00 a barrel really helps, but it won't be enough to stop the economic train wreck.

Even healthcare insurance providers are now laying off thousands of workers, even though the premiums keep rolling in. The insurance business always takes it on the chin when the stock market corrects, because there's no way for insurers to get a decent return on the premiums they receive.

So, it's pretty clear by the financial results we're seeing already that the recession is getting a solid grip on businesses from all industries. We're now seeing a cascading effect in the economy, where the "trickle down" effect is beginning to take hold right across the board. And, at the end of the day, there isn't much we can do about it. Investors and workers just have to ride out the storm as best they can.
 
Similar to the third quarter last year, the stock market is already prepared for bad fourth-quarter financial results. It's the corporate visibility that's the important information now.

Profit Confidential

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