Bull Cases Were Coming True Before Powell Warnings Wallop Stocks
- Data on profit margins, consumer sentiment defied bear alarms
- Nothing seemed to matter when Fed becomes market’s antagonist
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Something strange happened to the stock bull’s best arguments as the market slumped to its worst week since June: They turned out to be right.
Corporate America is enjoying the fattest profit margins in seven decades. Consumers, still flush with cash, remain optimistic. Together, it might’ve been too much for Jerome Powell -- a man who likely opposes market confidence as he fights inflation. His blunt warning Friday that the economy will be a victim in the battle sent stocks into a tailspin.