Aaron Back

Coca-Cola has been an unexciting stock to hold lately. In the fourth quarter, the company grew organic sales, which strip out the impact of mergers and currency fluctuations, 12% from a year earlier. Price increases accounted for much of that but, encouragingly, underlying case volume rose 2% from a year earlier.

米コカ・コーラが13日発表した2023年10-12月期決算は底堅く、投資家のポートフォリオにとって安定した業績が魅力であることを示した。

Reckitt Benckiser on Wednesday reported a wreck of a quarter, sending its London-traded shares down around 13%. The maker of Lysol cleanser said comparable sales fell 1.2% from a year earlier. Analysts were looking for 1.9% growth according to consensus estimates on FactSet.

Revenue [is still falling](https://www.wsj/business/retail/target-tgt-q4-earnings-report-2023-49933894?mod=hp_lead_pos4) at Target. The retailer on Tuesday said comparable sales fell 4.4% from a year earlier in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on Feb. 3. Shares soared by around 12% in morning trading.

米経済は、インフレ懸念を再燃させるほどの勢いはない「ゴルディロックス（適温経済）」のようなペースで雇用を増やし続けている。柔軟な勤務体系のおかげもあるのだろうか。

Recent data call into question the chances of Fed rate cuts this summer. A mixed set of economic data over the past week delivered a whiff of the dreaded S-word: Stagflation. But only a whiff.

McCormick results hit the spot on Tuesday, sending its shares sharply higher. Analysts polled by VisibleAlpha had on average expected a 1% decline. In the consumer division, which in addition to the company’s namesake spices includes brands like Frank’s RedHot and French’s mustard, sales increased 1% thanks to a 3% rise in prices, while volume declined 2%.

The metal serves as a hedge against fear itself, making it an appealing asset for our times.

It has badly trailed stocks over most extended periods. Over the course of the 1970s, gold's price in dollar terms rose more than 10-fold, according to the World Gold Council.

Makers of packaged food in the U.S. are pinning their hopes on a sales recovery later this year. Kraft Heinz on Wednesday reported results that didn’t go down well with Wall Street. Organic sales, which strip out currency and merger impacts, fell 0.5% from a year earlier in the first quarter.