As the first big group of second-quarter earnings reports came out last week, the rosy glow they exuded brightened up the stock market. The Dow-Jones industrial average rose to a new bull-market record of 343.48 at week's end.
Of more than 250 companies that reported for the second quarter, three out of five reported bigger profits than a year ago. Earnings were often up, because of the expiration of the excess-profits tax, even where sales were down. For example, General Electric's half-year profits were up 24% from a year ago to $1.08 a share, despite a 7% sales slump.
Douglas Aircraft...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
