Earnings Results: Siemens AG, SAP AG, Unilever

Wednesday saw several big companies reveal their earnings for the last three months of 2012. three of the most important firms reported this morning, giving some insight into their businesses, and the world economy in general. Siemens AG (NYSE:SI), SAP G (NYSE:SAP), and Unilever N.V. (NYSE:UN) all reported before the market opened.

The bottom line is that global demand was weaker than expected toward the end of 2012, and 2013 is a year marred by uncertainty. The companies that reported this morning are each large enough, and provide a wide enough range of products, to...