may be a signal that they believe the current earnings lull is temporary.
U.S. multinationals have been affected by unfavorable currency translations brought about by a stronger dollar over the last two quarters. The collapse in oil prices has also had a real impact on the earnings potential of U.S. energy producers. But at the same time, those hits, absorbed in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015, also mean that the same companies will face much easier comparisons when they report earnings for those periods nine to 12 months from now. Put another way, a year from now, instead of worrying about a profit recession, the financial press may once again be reporting on resumed corporate earnings growth in the United States. If coupled withcare?

Much of the 20th century has been characterized by “modernism”, a sort of catch-all phrase for a sort of pragmatic, rational take on the world we inhabit, and modernism is regarded in much of the world as the pinnacle of human culture. But since the late 60’s, more and more chinks in the modernist armor have become apparent: scientists bring their own biases to the table and they don’t get cancelled out properly, the rational market can’t handle its own large-scale side effects, and as the middle class has become more prosperous in the west, material wealth has become of less importance. This anti-modern movement, which is today at the forefront in both politics and media in the most well-off countries in the world, is usually dubbed postmodernism.