September Industrial Production = +0.4%

The government reported this morning that industrial production rose by 0.4% last month which was above Wall Street’s consensus of 0.2%. This was an interesting report to watch because industrial production took a big hit in August when it dropped by 1.4%. That may have just been a blip instead of the beginning of a long-term trend. This also confirms the strength we’re seeing from consumers. Retail sales just had their biggest two-month gain in nearly two years. The Commerce Department said that retail sales rose by 1.1% in September which comes after a 1.2% increase in August.

The government also reported that the CPI rose by 0.6% in September. But the core rate, which excludes food and energy, rose by just 0.1%.

Goldman Sachs ($GS) reported third-quarter earnings of $2.85 per share. That was 73 cents per share above forecasts. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by four cents to 5 cents per share. In the same quarter one year ago, Goldman lost 84 cents per share.

Perhaps the biggest news today is that Vikram Pandit resigned as CEO of Citigroup ($C). This was a big surprise. Apparently Pandit and the board clashed over how to lead the business. Citigroup aside, I’d like to see more instances of a board winning conflicts with CEOs. The stock has lost 88.4% since Pandit took over in 2007.

So far, 48 companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings and 35 have topped estimates.

Posted by on October 16th, 2012 at 10:49 am


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