A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported that quarterly profits and revenue at big U.S. companies are poised to decline for the first time since the 2008 recession, as some industrial firms warn of a pullback in spending.

The authors point out that industrial companies are being buffeted on multiple fronts: slumping energy prices, the economic slowdowns in China and Brazil, a strong dollar, and the potential for rising interest rates. “U.S. manufacturing production rose in September at its slowest pace in more than two years, and customer inventories remain high,” the authors note.

Others concur. “The ability for corporations to take a 1 percent to 2 percent revenue line [gain] and turn it into 5 percent to 6 percent profit growth is waning,” says Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

 …