G'day Ellen and Jim, Jim writes: >IMHO, the strength of the US stock market first and foremost reflects the >strength of the US profit rate I get confused here. Many 1998 annual reports within the Fortune 500 pointed at DECLINING profits, no? And might we not be conflating 'core business' performance with profits made on the stock markets? I mean, if a firm spends a heap on buy backs (& other stocks, too, I s'pose) on a roaring Wall St, simply because of CEO stock options and the fact that making the widgets of yore doesn't offer the returns you can get from shares - why, wouldn't profit statements actually be reflecting Wall St (and a bubble at that) rather than underpinning it? Sorry if this is crap. I just gotta know, that's all. Cheers, Rob.
