John Butters
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"John Henry Butters" Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George/CMG Member of the Order of the British Empire/MBE was an Australian electrical engineer notable for his role in the Tasmanian Hydro Tasmania/Hydro-electric Department from 1914 to 1924, and as the head of the Federal Capital Commission, which developed Canberra between 1925 and 1930.

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Earnings so far have been fairly robust. And if you look at projections, the short-term looks pretty good too.

It's been a very positive quarter so far for tech pre-announcements.

Overall, companies are topping estimates by about two percent, which is below the long term average of 3.2 percent and the average of the last 8 quarters, which is 5 percent.

No surprise there, with the run up in energy prices.

Next week is not a big week in terms of the number of companies reporting, but it is a big week in terms of influential companies reporting.

If you look at technology, for instance, for the S.&P. 500, 14 out of 20 companies that have reported beat the number. But when you have some of the big names lower numbers, it sets the mood for everyone.

Energy is certainly the driver of growth in the second quarter, with the sector expected to see year-over-year growth of 41 percent.

It sounds like a broken record, but companies are still recording solid earnings growth. It's a trend we have been seeing for quite a while.

The long-term average earnings growth is about 7 percent, ... so mid- to high teens this quarter is still good.