Demergers the rage as firms brace for soft earnings outlook A SLEW of companies is expected to embark on restructures to offset the soft earnings outlook as the tailwinds of accelerating growth in China and a relatively strong domestic economy taper. As investors brace for a more challenging year on the stockmarket, equity strategists at Credit Suisse said companies "helping themselves" would win favour this year because of the sluggish backdrop for the economy and profits, and the rise in "bottom-up" factors.