Final thoughts

This earnings season will hit a little different. U.S. Steel has announced that it won’t be hosting an earnings call. While this silence is normal during an acquisition process, it does alter a staple of the earnings landscape. Last week, Scott Davidson, VP at Nippon Steel Trading Americas, wrote a letter to the editor on why the Nippon buy was good for U.S. Steel and domestic manufacturing. It seems this deal highlights the complexities of the current moment.

In a globalized world, how exactly do you define domestic? Of course anyone familiar with the number 232 will know such definitions exist. Still, the idea that you work at a factory in a town, the owner lives in said town, and you may run into him or her on the main town square on a Sunday stroll is not as common as it once was. Things often get more complex. Outside of factories, scrapyards, or mills, a lot of people no longer even work in an office.