Despite the Doom and Gloom, America's CFOs Are Optimistic

The markets didn't get off to a great start for 2024... The S&P 500 Index fell about 1.5% last week. And you can already feel the sense of impending doom creeping back in the media. [Chaikin PowerFeed]( Despite the Doom and Gloom, America's CFOs Are Optimistic By Vic Lederman, editorial director, Chaikin Analytics The markets didn't get off to a great start for 2024... The S&P 500 Index fell about 1.5% last week. And you can already feel the sense of impending doom creeping back in the media. Reuters warns investors to brace for a "new economic order." And the Wall Street Journal says that we're set up to have a "trying 2024." Meanwhile, according to the University of Michigan's long-running consumer sentiment measure, we're still well below the level of positivity that regular folks were feeling in 2019. But a certain group of people feels differently. And they're the ones that pull the financial strings in corporate America. In today's essay, I'll share the data behind what might seem like a surprising twist... Recommended Links: ["Forget Bitcoin: THESE Cryptos Could Make You Rich in 2024"]( There's a shortlist of under-the-radar crypto investments (each trading for less than $3) that a top expert recommends you get into immediately. It's the same expert who's recommended 72 different opportunities to collect triple or quadruple digit gains ranging from 100% to 5,754% in just the past five years alone. In short, early investors in his newest finds could make a small fortune in 2024... but the window to act is quickly closing. Until midnight tonight, [click here for details](. [Gold is SOARING – here's what you need to do]( Everything is lining up perfectly for a historic gold bull run. One gold expert says he's found the best way to get in, for just $5. [Click here for full details](. Each quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond releases a survey of chief financial officers ("CFOs"). The survey panel covers 2,100 members. And the most recent release was just last month. Part of the survey asks participants to rate their optimism about the economy on a scale from 0 to 100. The average rating came in at 58 for the fourth quarter. That's also up slightly from 56.2 in the third quarter. Put simply, America's CFOs are feeling bullish. Digging deeper, this optimism is reflected in CFO estimates of negative gross domestic product ("GDP") growth... The chart below shows the percentage of CFOs that expect negative growth. The higher the line on the chart, the worse that CFOs think GDP growth will be in the near future. In other words, the higher the line, the more negative CFOs are. The lower the line, the more optimistic they are. Today, that line is falling. Take a look... [Chaikin PowerFeed] This is a good sign... Right now, only about 13% of CFOs in the survey expect negative growth. That means nearly 90% of them expect positive GDP growth. This is also a big improvement from last year. As you can see in the chart, CFOs had huge expectations for negative growth in 2022. Those negative expectations were almost as high as during the pandemic. This data tells us that despite all the negativity in the news, CFOs are largely positive about the future. They see a growing economy ahead. And that kind of optimism leads to further economic activity. The survey also shows where CFO predictions are clustered... Roughly 33% of CFOs surveyed predict GDP growth between 1.5% and 2.4%. Another roughly 20% of them see GDP growth between 2.5% and 3.9%. That's a healthy clip, considering that the long-term average growth rate is just about 3.2%. Yes, the world feels uncertain. The mainstream media is often negative. But the people pulling the financial strings of America's largest companies are feeling bullish. And they see growth ahead. Looking forward, that's a great sign for the economy. Good investing, Vic Lederman Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors # Hld: Bullish Neutral Bearish Dow 30 +0.590% 12 17 1 S&P 500 +1.430% 143 307 48 Nasdaq +2.070% 39 48 12 Small Caps +1.880% 739 907 271 Bonds +0.980% Information Technology +2.510% 33 31 0 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks remain Bullish. Major indexes are mixed. * * * * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Health Care +2.91% Utilities +2.64% Financial +1.04% Staples +0.71% Communication +0.69% Energy -0.17% Real Estate -0.57% Materials -0.98% Industrials -1.61% Discretionary -1.82% Information Technology -1.94% * * * * Industry Focus Biotech Services 67 58 2 Over the past 6 months, the Biotech subsector (XBI) has outperformed the S&P 500 by +2.96%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Very Strong, with more Bullish than Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #5 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 4 slots over the past week. Top Stocks [rating] TWST Twist Bioscience Cor [rating] REGN Regeneron Pharmaceut [rating] KNSA Kiniksa Pharmaceutic * * * * Top Movers Gainers [rating] AAL +7.21% [rating] ANET +6.46% [rating] NVDA +6.43% [rating] AMD +5.48% [rating] FTNT +5.00% Losers [rating] BA -8.03% [rating] SLB -2.97% [rating] BKR -2.93% [rating] MRO -2.66% [rating] CF -2.40% * * * * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close SNX ACI, AYI, MSM No earnings reporting today. Earnings Surprises [rating] JEF Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Q4 $0.23 Missed by $-0.11 [rating] CMC Commercial Metals Company Q1 $1.63 Beat by $0.16 [rating] HELE Helen of Troy Limited Q3 $2.79 Beat by $0.04 * * * * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, [click here](. You’re receiving this e-mail at {EMAIL}. 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