Trump Joins Dimon, Buffett Bandwagon and Hits a Deere
He adds his voice to critics calling for an end to quarterly earnings. Deere’s results, for one, show they have a place.
Details matter.
Photographer: Olivier Douliery/AbacaPresident Donald Trump is wading into the battle against short-termism, but he’s again aiming a bazooka at a nuanced problem.
Out of nowhere on Friday, Trump tweeted that he had asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to study a switch to semi-annual earnings reports after “some of the world’s top business leaders” complained about the current quarterly requirements. I have a hard time believing this is business leaders’ primary bone to pick with Trump, as opposed to his trade wars or alarming comments about interest rates and the U.S. dollar. Trump also has a habit of using impossible-to-prove anecdotes about unnamed powerful men to support his agenda — although in this case, he said outgoing PepsiCo Inc. CEO Indra Nooyi planted the seed.