This is The Takeaway from today’s Morning Brief, which you can sign up to receive in your inbox every morning, along with:
It has been a week.
The super cold weather in New York zapped the battery on my two-door sports car, prompting a call to AAA. It started right up, thankfully. I pulled a back muscle trying to sumo squat 400 pounds on an empty stomach. So much for that $75 weight belt I bought.
As for work, the market got crushed on Tuesday due to Greenland-related tariff fears, but by the end of the week, everything was great. Speeches by President Trump and Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, quieted the bears down, and the dip buyers returned.
Getting back to Greenland, I can’t remember reporting a market-related story on Greenland in my 22-year career — save for the past two weeks.
Oh well.
But throughout it all, one comment from President Trump really left me thinking about what’s possible. The president said he thinks the stock market could double this year!
Sure, I didn’t expect the president to come out saying he believes the stock market could crash this year. But hearing that type of market call from a US president is eye-opening. I fancy he has said it before, and I probably was equally as intrigued.
While I agree that there are a good number of catalysts that could power up the market this year — massive tax refund season, AI buildouts, etc., the reality is the US consumer needs to come alive.
Strong-paying jobs have to lead. Consumers have to earn more money to compensate for the high costs of daily necessities, whether that’s razor blades or milk. Lower gas prices will help, and so could the president’s push to cap credit card rates.
Read more: What Trump’s 10% cap on interest rates would mean for credit cardholders
But here’s where the situation stands within many households: Using Tide and Pampers maker Procter & Gamble (PG) as an example, the financially stretched consumer continues to drive mixed earnings results at the consumer giant.
The company’s second fiscal quarter sales missed estimates in the grooming, fabric care, and baby categories on Thursday as consumers traded down to cheaper private-label options.
P&G did beat earnings estimates and maintain its full-year outlook.
“We are seeing sales growth in our categories in the US and Europe, albeit at a slower pace,” Procter & Gamble CFO Andre Schulten said (video above).
