Corporate America is starting to brace for a recession. Economic bellwether FedEx (FDX) stunned Wall Street last week with a massive earnings warning and tepid outlook for the global economy.
FedEx’s bad news overshadowed a more promising development on Thursday, the agreement between railroad operators and unions to avoid what could have been a crippling freight rail strike.
Still, investors remain nervous about the health of the railroad business, a sign of the jitters about the overall economy. Shares of top rail operators Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX) and Norfolk Southern (NSC) are down sharply this year. Even Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB), which owns Burlington Northern Santa Fe, has taken a dip lately.
But FedEx isn’t the only company sounding the recession alarm bell. In an unusually dour earnings call earlier this month, the CEO of high-end furnishings retailer RH (RH) (aka Restoration Hardware) said that “anybody who thinks we’re not in a recession is crazy” and added that the housing market is in a downturn that is “just getting started.”
Read more at CNN.com
