What can one company’s results tell us about the economy?

BlackRock — the huge New York-based investment firm — today came in with some quite good financial results for the first quarter of 2019. At least, the numbers are good when you consider what was going on as the year started. With markets tanking at that time and a prolonged government shutdown, Wall Street forecasters were expecting a big decline in revenues and profits compared to the same quarter last year. Instead, BlackRock’s profits fell just slightly, as did its revenue. Meanwhile, its total assets under management actually rose by 3%, to $6.5 trillion. What can the firm’s first quarter tell us about the overall U.S. economy?