Productivity, consumer prices, Cardinal Health earns
Aug 8, 2022, 12:10 AM | Updated: 12:31 am
A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
ECONOMIC BELLWETHER
Economists project that U.S. worker productivity fell in the April-June period for the second consecutive quarter.
The Labor Department is expected to report Tuesday that nonfarm labor productivity fell in the second quarter at an annual rate of 4.1%. That would follow a 7.3% decline in the first three months of the year. Productivity is the amount of output per hour of work. The economy shrank in the first half of this year, raising fears that the nation may be in a recession.
Productivity, annualized quarterly percent change, seasonally adjusted:
Q1 2021: 2.2
Q2 2021: 3.2
Q3 2021: -3.9
Q4 2021: 6.3
Q1 2022: -7.3
Q2 2022 (est.): -4.1
Source: FactSet
TRACKING INFLATION
The Labor Department delivers its latest monthly index of inflation at the consumer level Wednesday.
Americans continue to face higher costs, reflected in a run of sharp annual increases in the consumer price index since summer last year. over the last year. Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 9.1% in June from a year earlier, the biggest yearly increase since 1981, with energy costs driving much of the gain. Economists predict the consumer price index rose 8.7% in the 12 months ended in July.
Consumer price index, annual percent change, not seasonally adjusted:
Feb. 7.9
March 8.5
April 8.3
May 8.6
June 9.1
July (est.) 8.7
Source: FactSet
SPOTLIGHT ON CARDINAL
Wall Street expects that Cardinal Health closed out its last fiscal year with a solid quarterly report card.
Analysts predict the distributor of medical devices and medicines will report higher fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue than a year earlier. In the previous three quarters, Cardinal posted lower earnings, even as revenues ticked higher. The company reports its latest quarterly results Thursday.
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