Companies around the world faced hurricanes, the U.K.’s messy divorce from the European Union and ominous missile tests by North Korea in the third quarter. As investors await earnings reports over the coming weeks, the challenge will be to ignore all that. Look past the hand-wringing over political tensions and natural disasters, and the global economy is performing at its best pace in a decade, according to the International Monetary Fund, fueled by years of rock-bottom interest rates. The IMF last week lifted its estimate for growth in the U.S., the euro area, Japan and China. “Globally, the macroeconomic situation is a very solid backdrop for corporate profits,” said Sean Taylor, chief investment officer for the Asia Pacific region at Deutsche Asset Management, which oversees about $840 billion globally. That helps explain why Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. are projected to post quarterly profit growth of at least 45 percent. And why 83 percent of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that have already reported— including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Johnson & Johnson—topped analysts’ estimates. In Europe, earnings at Swiss luxury-goods maker Cie. Financiere Richemont SA surged 45 percent in the six months ended Sept. 30 as consumers snapped up pricey Cartier and Montblanc watches. Analysts predict U.S. companies in the S&P 500 will report a 3.1 percent profit increase in the period, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. sees earnings for European companies climbing 6 percent. In Asia, earnings per share have surged 21 percent at 43 companies in the MSCI AC Asia Pacific index that have already reported, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Consumer Goods To be sure, there are some problems that transcend the underlying economic strength. Consumer-goods companies Nestle SA and Unilever reported weak sales this week, as North American hurricanes and European rains further undermined already tepid consumer demand for big brands. The results may embolden the activist investors that have been targeting the sector. In the U.S., insurers, automakers, hospitals and other companies may take a hit from the brutal hurricane season. With storms such as Harvey, which hit Houston, and Maria in the Caribbean, the period had more major hurricanes than any in more than a decade. Herewith, a look at some of the other expected highlights and lowlights in third-quarter earnings: * Apple Inc. will provide two important indicators of how demand is shaping up for its new iPhones when it reports Nov. 2. Results will include initial sales of the iPhone 8, which was released Sept. 22, eight days before the end of the period, and the company will release revenue projections for the holiday quarter, which will include almost two months of sales for the top-of-the-line iPhone X. While early numbers might indicate tepid demand for the iPhone 8, analysts have speculated consumers are waiting to buy the higher-end X. * The weakened dollar stands to benefit U.S. companies such as Caterpillar Inc. that rely heavily on exports, which are made cheaper by a weak greenback. The Bloomberg dollar index has fallen about 8 percent this year. * In Europe, on the other hand, look for the strength of the euro to weigh on growth, especially for luxury-goods companies. The currency’s strength may cut earnings by 5 percent, according to JPMorgan strategists. But given how strong Chinese demand has been for Richemont’s watches and Remy Martin XO cognac, that headwind may be barely noticeable. * Speaking of demand from China: The economy there grew 6.8 percent in the third quarter, and that will be felt around the world. Daimler AG and Volvo AB, the world’s biggest makers of commercial vehicles, reported robust profit gains Friday, in part on demand from China. Look for rising sales in that country to also help lift Toyota Motor Corp.’s profits, while Fast Retailing Co., the Japanese company that owns the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, forecasts a 20 percent jump in earnings as it adds more stores in China and other markets. * Some industries where demand has been weak are starting to see signs of a turnaround. Ericsson AB, the embattled Swedish maker of wireless-network equipment, said Friday growth has returned in several countries, with operators increasing investments in grid capacity. The company broke even on an adjusted-operating level, while analysts had predicted a loss. * Oil shares have fallen this year, yet producers have the wind at their backs as crude prices hold over $50 a barrel. PetroChina Co.’s net income probably surged more than fourfold, based on analysts’ estimates. The major U.S. producers, from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Anadarko Petroleum Corp., are expected to post higher earnings, too. Investors will be looking for any shift in how much they expect to pump in 2018. A decline could help balance a market grappling with oversupply, but it could also stoke fears that U.S. shale production is running into technical problems. * Investors will scour mining-company reports for clues to whether the supply tightness that’s driven up prices of industrial metals from aluminum to zinc is likely to persist. Alcoa Corp., which kicked off earnings season for metals-producers on Wednesday, signaled China’s supply-side reforms are returning the aluminum market to “relative balance” from a surplus. * It isn’t getting any easier for grain handlers to turn a profit on corn and soybeans. Earnings of agricultural companies including Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and Bunge Ltd. have been weighed down by farmers hoarding crops and production rising from the Americas to the Black Sea region. Analysts on average over the last four weeks have cut third-quarter earnings estimates for ADM and Bunge as these challenges persist. * Among industry groups, technology is forecast to see one of the biggest jumps in third-quarter earnings, according to data collected by Bloomberg. With a projected 10 percent rise, only the energy sector of the S&P 500 is estimated to see a larger increase. Customers keep buying gadgets, signing cloud-computing contracts and paying up for online advertising. * How good a deal was Amazon.com Inc.’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market? This will be the first quarter that includes results from that takeover, which shook the grocery industry in the U.S. and rippled into Europe. But the bigger story when Amazon reports Oct. 26 will be the boost it got from its market-leading cloud-computing business, Amazon Web Services.