Sounds more shaky than strong with the consumer/Global trade still soft but Germany and UK are hopeful for rebound

I'll start with the macro comments from the important earnings calls yesterday and then go to the overseas news. Apparent is soft global trade and a shaky, not strong, consumer. 

From FedEx, a stock we own and a quarter where greater execution particularly in their Express business is what's driving the stock pre market:

"weakness in global trade continues to constrain demand in our international business, which has remained challenged for longer than expected."

"Looking now by geography. In the United States, conditions have been weaker than we anticipated, and internationally, we continue to see softness."

From Nike:

North America is where they saw revenue growth, albeit slightly, in addition to South America but sales declined in Europe/Middle East/Asia (EMEA). 

With EMEA, "sales in the geography fell short of our expectations this quarter, as we navigated increased macro volatility and softening consumer demand." China sales in particular were in line to what they guided the previous quarter. And, "the way we're thinking about the geography splits is we're not assuming that economic conditions in the international markets in particular get better. It assumes a status quo relative to where we are today."

"Our inventory position remains healthy, with total marketplace units down double-digits versus the prior year and weeks of supply at their lowest levels since the pandemic."

As for guidance, "we are prudently planning for revenue in the first half of the fiscal year to be down low single digits. As I mentioned earlier, this reflects near-term headwinds from lifecycle management of our key product franchises, more than offsetting the scaling of new products as we shift our product portfolio toward newness and innovation. This also continues to reflect the subdued macro outlook around the world."

They remain optimistic on their industry place. "We think we continue to have industry tailwinds, consumer interest in sport, more people participating in running events and marathons, to more people focused on fitness and living a healthy lifestyle. There are natural consumer tailwinds that are going to continue to drive growth in our sector, and we expect to grow and to take share, like we always have."

From Lululemon:

"As you've heard from others in our industry, there has been a shift in the US consumer behavior of late and we're navigating what has been a slower start to the year in this market." Their international business did better, including Canada.