Carlsberg is the fourth-largest brewer in the world following the combination of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, with major operations in Russia, Europe, and Asia. It holds leading share in Scandinavia, Switzerland, Portugal, Laos, Nepal, and parts of western China. Its key brands include Carlsberg, 1664, Tuborg, Holsten, and Somersby. The company's 2022 beverage volume, excluding Russia, was split among Northern and Western Europe (35%), Eastern Europe (26%), and Asia (39%).

Intel is the world's largest logic chipmaker. It designs and manufactures microprocessors for the global personal computer and data center markets. Intel pioneered the x86 architecture for microprocessors. It was the prime proponent of Moore's law for advances in semiconductor manufacturing, though the firm has recently faced manufacturing delays. While Intel's server processor business has benefited from the shift to the cloud, the firm has also been expanding into new adjacencies as the personal computer market has stagnated. These include areas such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and automotive. Intel has been active on the merger and acquisitions front, acquiring Altera, Mobileye, and Habana Labs in order to bolster these efforts in non-PC arenas.

Cognizant is a global IT services provider, offering consulting and outsourcing services to some of the world’s largest enterprises spanning the financial services, media and communications, healthcare, natural resources, and consumer products industries. Cognizant employs nearly 300,000 people globally, roughly 70% of whom are in India, although the company’s headquarters are in Teaneck, New Jersey.

The outlooks of purchasing managers -- and the manufacturing sectors they represent -- have turned negative in recent months, due in part to supply-chain woes, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and now higher interest rates. In fact, most manufacturing sectors now are contracting, compared to earlier this year when they were still expanding. Consider the Eurozone, which had a Purchasing Managers Index reading of 58.4 in 1Q22 and is now down to 49.6% (a reading below 50% indicates a contracting manufacturing segment). Manufacturing stalwart Germany has slipped to 49.8% from 58.4%. And the latest UK reading is 47.3% versus 54.6% in the prior quarter. China manufacturing is also contracting; the most-recent PMI reading in the world's second-largest economy was 49.5%. Japan also reported a PMI of 49.5%. The one economy that had been holding on? That was the U.S. -- but the latest PMI reading in November was 49%, while New Orders struggled even more at 47%. Other industrial indicators remain mostly positive. Total Manufacturing New Orders were steady month-over-month in September, and are now 12% higher year-over-year. Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft were slightly higher month-over-month in October and have risen 7% year-over-year. Orders for Durable Goods rose month-over-month in October to $277 billion. Still, we note that those are historical growth rates. The PMI data is pointing toward a contraction.