It is the quarterly earnings season, and with it come narratives from equity analysts, business media and chief executive officers on the health and status of consumer demand. It would be both heartening and enlightening if these narratives came from understanding what is happening to household employment, income, sentiment and spending choices instead of conjecture based on sales performance of large listed companies in analysts’ favourite sectors (fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG, for some, cars or smartphones for others).
Evaluating corporate results through the lens of factors affecting consumer demand makes more sense than the reverse, and does not add
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