Computer sales are a solid proxy for growth
Companies come up with all kinds of excuses when earnings miss estimates. In the upcoming earnings season I expect to hear a multitude of CFOs blame the weak dollar for soft earnings.
We will also be keeping a close eye on how executive see China performing. Economic data from China is completely unreliable and I fully expect a surprisingly strong GDP print from China on Tuesday despite whatever malaise is hitting the economy.
The people in the best position to comment on what's really going on in China are the companies who are selling there.
"Our team on the ground in China has gotten fairly cautious about what's going on," said Stacy Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, during a conference call with analysts to discuss its fourth-quarter results.
