Tim Hortons shareholder Highfields Capital said last week that the company's U.S. expansion is a failure and it should stop funding the unsuccessful strategy. We'll see if Tim Hortons latest results give Highfields more ammunition.
The European Central Bank cut its benchmark
interest rate to a record low 0.5 percent from 0.75 percent amid soaring
unemployment, weak consumer spending and waning business confidence.
There are simply too many companies reporting earnings and providing their anecdotal reflections on global demand and growth to worry about government stats, it seems.