The Two-Faced Economy(I)
Consumers are spending, corporations are not. Which group is getting it wrong?
We’ve heard plenty about the wealth divide in the U.S. economy. But there’s another important divide – the one between consumers and corporations. If you look at how U.S. households have been behaving lately, you’d think it was all blue skies. Consumer confidence is at a five-year high, thanks to higher stock prices and a recovery (恢复) in the housing market. Home prices have had their biggest jump since 2005. Consumers, finally feeling more flush（冲击）, are buying that new car or electronic gadget（小工具，机件） and bolstering (加强) GDP (gross domestic productivity) growth a bit.
Part of the new confidence comes down to the fact that Americans have gotten their financial houses in order. Credit-card delinquencies (拖欠) are at a decade low, and mortgage（贷款） debt is down, even if foreclosures (丧失抵押品赎回权) still loom (迫在眉睫) for some. Companies are even more flush: they’ve got $2 trillion on their balance sheets and record profits.
Yet far from being bullish（上涨） the blue chips（蓝筹股） are hunkering down（下降） as they see weakness down the road. Business spending has dropped, and hiring (which already wasn’t strong) is on hold at many companies. Exporters in particular are suffering because of a slowdown in emerging markets and continued problems in the euro zone. Even those that are doing well, like Caterpillar, have lowered earnings forecasts for 2012.
From Time Nov.5th by Rana Foroohar
Consumers are spending, corporations are not. Which group is getting it wrong?
We’ve heard plenty about the wealth divide in the U.S. economy. But there’s another important divide – the one between consumers and corporations. If you look at how U.S. households have been behaving lately, you’d think it was all blue skies. Consumer confidence is at a five-year high, thanks to higher stock prices and a recovery (恢复) in the housing market. Home prices have had their biggest jump since 2005. Consumers, finally feeling more flush（冲击）, are buying that new car or electronic gadget（小工具，机件） and bolstering (加强) GDP (gross domestic productivity) growth a bit.
Part of the new confidence comes down to the fact that Americans have gotten their financial houses in order. Credit-card delinquencies (拖欠) are at a decade low, and mortgage（贷款） debt is down, even if foreclosures (丧失抵押品赎回权) still loom (迫在眉睫) for some. Companies are even more flush: they’ve got $2 trillion on their balance sheets and record profits.
Yet far from being bullish（上涨） the blue chips（蓝筹股） are hunkering down（下降） as they see weakness down the road. Business spending has dropped, and hiring (which already wasn’t strong) is on hold at many companies. Exporters in particular are suffering because of a slowdown in emerging markets and continued problems in the euro zone. Even those that are doing well, like Caterpillar, have lowered earnings forecasts for 2012.
From Time Nov.5th by Rana Foroohar
