Market Insider: It's Here — One Ugly Earnings Season

Market Insider: It's Here — One Ugly Earnings Season

(Source: April 13th, 2009) CNBC, Patti Domm)
After a five-week rally, stocks face one of their toughest challenges yet - a very nasty earnings season.
In the coming week, dozens of companies report, including such major names as Goldman Sachs, Johnson and Johnson, Google, Intel, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and General Electric. For S&P 500 companies, first-quarter earnings are expected to decline nearly 38 percent.
There is also a full calendar of economic data such as retail sales, industrial production and inflation data.
Given the lack of earnings guidance this quarter, traders are debating whether earnings will be a positive or negative catalyst for stocks, since the opportunity for surprises is greater than in the past. Goldman Sachs says just 25 percent of the S&P 500 now give quarterly guidance.
"The divergence in consensus is the widest it's been," said Peter McCorry, who trades bank stocks at Keefe, Bruyette.

"I don't think we'll see the V-shaped turnaround in the market continue from here ... It will be more drawn out," said McCorry. "The volatility we have is no accident. Expectations are very varied right now. We're very emotional, headline driven, minute to minute."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/30144581

Nov 30th. The Stock Market, the week ahead

Black Friday turned out to be not as bad as expected, although steep discounts were given. Bargain hunting is trump this year. Tomorrow (Monday Dec 1st) is 'Cyber Monday' in the U.K.
The markets had a very good week last week, we can expect profit taking in the next days. The terrorist attack in Mumbai can have a profound psychological impact om the (Asian) markets as well. Torrow morning we can give more news and the latest updates.

When you want to get detailed financial information take a look at CNBC TV in the morning,

Wall St Week Ahead: Stocks eye dour jobs, shopping data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street may struggle this week to build on its best weekly performance in almost 30 years as investors grapple with a raft of economic data, including the November jobs report, that will likely provide more evidence of a deep economic downturn.
This week, investors will keenly watch retail sales to see if consumers opened their wallets and began buying gifts on Black Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is known. It's the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and usually one of the year's biggest shopping days.
But this time, holiday sales forecasts are grim as the end of easy credit and rising unemployment have made consumers more frugal.
Wall Street ended last week's holiday-shortened run in the black, snapping a weeks-long losing streak as investors were encouraged by the U.S. government's bailout of Citigroup.