Corporate earnings surprise in US, Europe isn't what it seems

London

EARNINGS from the first quarter are almost all in - and most companies in Europe and the US managed to beat analyst estimates. That's no reason for bond investors to celebrate.

Of the 458 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported, almost 75 per cent beat consensus forecasts, according to Bloomberg data. In Europe, more than half of the 343 companies in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Index surpassed expectations.