So the forecast for March jobs is especially positive, the consensus being that the Labor Department will report on Friday that 200, 000 to 250, 000 new jobs were created in March.
That represents middle-of-the-road consensus, positive action for the economy and for the country.
But, in the midst of a generally positive trend, the number beat the consensus estimate which called for 375, 000.
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Analysis of mentoring schemes around the world, conducted by the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI), found "there is no consensus that mentoring has a significant positive effect on mentees".
The economic-sentiment indicator for February rose sharply to 5.4 points from -21.6 in January, the first positive reading since May 2011 and much better than consensus expectations.
Another survey revealed that 78 percent of managers would reject an NPV (net present value)-positive project if it would lower quarterly earnings below consensus expectations, and 80 percent would focus on this short-term metric at the expense of building long-term shareholder value.
The bank reported a fourth consecutive quarter of positive earnings Tuesday, but it was far off the analyst consensus for revenue growth and profits.
The result surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents, marking the fourth positive surprise over the last seven quarters.
"I think that office supply sales will see growth ahead of the consensus median retail industry, especially given that we will get positive job prints in early 2010, which means more post-it notes and pens, " he says.
Lithia Motors logged second-quarter 2012 adjusted earnings of 76 cents per share on July 25, outstripping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.75% and marking the 10th consecutive positive surprise.
The consensus would shuffle from mildly negative to neutral and then to lukewarm-positive.
There was no clear consensus as to whether the increase in the dollar volume of proposed deals was a positive or a negative.
The chart shows that consensus estimates have been trending significantly higher since 2011, as the company has delivered 10 straight positive earnings surprises.
Despite the upbeat guidance and better-than-consensus third quarter, shares of United Technology opened in the red Wednesday before creeping back into positive territory with a 0.6% gain 30 minutes into the session.
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