Big business is in for a rough earnings season

Chief executives of the world’s biggest firms seem in highish spirits of late. Although they see the as a humanitarian tragedy, the risks to the world economy look for now to be contained. Central banks have got serious about inflation. The world economy has held up better than expected a few months ago. China’s Communist government has launched a charm offensive, signalling that the country is not just r after its harsh “zero-covid” regime but also reintegrating with the world. Globalisation may not be in the rudest of health, but news of its demise appears, to many bosses, exaggerated.The mood in corner offices may be about to sour. “Earnings season is going to be the confessional event,” says Jim Tierney of Bernstein, an investment firm, referring to the month or so when most companies report their quarterly results. The profits of America’s banking giants, which kicked things off earlier this month, fell by 20% year on year. Investment bankers got a particularly severe drubbing, as dealmaking collapsed amid economic uncertainty. Goldman Sachs is giving around 3,200 of its workers the boot.