Tariff Turmoil Prompts Cloudy Forecasts for the Year Ahead – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
NEW YORK — Uncertainty continues to hang over the latest round of financial results and forecasts for companies both big and small as they try to navigate a global trade system severely shaken by a shift in U.S. policy, according to an Associated Press report.
Tariffs and the stark shift in policy has also shaken consumer and business confidence. The U.S. economy shrank during the first quarter of the year, its first drop in three years. Consumer spending ramped up in March, likely an effort to get ahead of tariffs, but fell for the entire quarter. Meanwhile, companies have been pulling back on hiring.
Roughly half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their latest quarterly financial results, but the focus has been on how they will adjust to tariffs and any change in consumers’ behavior. The focus remains blurry for both companies and investors because of the on-again-off-again nature of President Donald Trump’s policy.
Trump has implemented a range of tariffs on goods from some of the biggest U.S. trading partners and many of those countries have hit back with retaliatory tariffs. At the same time, Trump has pulled back or postponed some tariffs. The situation remains unpredictable and that is problematic for companies trying to plan ahead and investors looking for stability.
Here’s what companies (Caterpillar, Stanley Black & Decker, Newell Brands, Barclays, GSK, Sysco and First Solar) are saying about tariffs and the potential impact …
Click here to read the full Associated Press report.
