It's a bear market and very strange kind of bear market, Forbes 500 have a lower market cap by 20% in 2000, but higher employment, higher profits and higher sales for the Forbes 500 in year 2000.
Can any one make an effort to explain this?
Numbers tell me a different story, a little different script from the present carnage of the markets. The GDP figures of the 4th quarter 2000 have been revised to 1%, the economy has been week all along during the last two quarters of 2000, but the sales and the profit numbers of the top companies show a slightly different picture.
In year 2000, 817 companies that make the Forbes 500 lost market cap by 20.5%, the Market Value 500 in 2000 is 10.7 trillion lower by -20.5% and far lower than +15.7%, average 15-year growth rate. Now this is good enough and makes the bear case looks good, however, the tricky part is the next one.
The total employment of these companies 817 companies that form the Forbes 500 increased to 24.9 million, an increase of 4.1% over 1999 a rate that is 1% higher than 15 years growth rate of increase of employment.
The sales of these companies increased in 2000 to $7.0 trillion a 14.4% increase over 1999 much in excess of 6.5% average 15-year growth rate. The assets of these 817 companies in 2000 increased to 17.9 trillion an increase of 10.9% over 1999 and again in excess of 8.2% average 15-year growth rate. The Profits 500 increased to $496 billion a9.9% increase over 1999 and nearly a 1% above 8.9% the 15 year average growth rate of the profits. |
