Business news with words earnings+recession. 17 news.

Virtually any investor looking for an excuse to turn negative on the markets would have found it during this intraholiday week: Geopolitical instability? Check. Rocketing fuel costs? Check. Bad news on the housing market? Check. All that, of course, was piled atop a mound of worries about inflation, recession, stagflation, consumers' mood, corporate earnings, banking write-downs and (distressingly) more.

Virtually any investor looking for an excuse to turn negative on the markets would have found it during this intraholiday week: Geopolitical instability? Check. Rocketing fuel costs? Check. Bad news on the housing market? Check. All that, of course, was piled atop a mound of worries about inflation, recession, stagflation, consumers' mood, corporate earnings, banking write-downs and (distressingly) more.

US companies are on course to slump into their first "earnings recession" in five years after the financial sector's deepening troubles forced Wall Street to slash profit forecasts for the last three months of 2007

WALL Street wilted yesterday as investors awaiting next week's Federal Reserve meeting remained uneasy that fallout from the slumping housing market could bring more bank losses and pull the economy into recession. Retreating oil prices and signs of strength in industries outside the financial sector could not keep the stock market from declining for a second straight day. Investors have entered into December, usually a winning month on Wall Street, very cautiously _ most expect to see lower rates when the Fed meets next Tuesday, but the size of the cut, if any, is under debate. Meanwhile, JPMorgan downgraded major securities firms, warning that while further write-offs of bad mortgage debt might help the firms' stocks, longer-term concerns about their risk management might hurt their overall valuation. JPMorgan lowered its earnings estimates for some of Wall Street's biggest players: Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan

FT.com - While the debate rages over whether the real economy is going into a recession, the reality is that the earnings recession has already arrived," warns David Rosenberg, chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch.

EUROPEAN stocks capped the longest streak of weekly losses since August after the Federal Reserve cut its United States growth forecast, fueling concern the world's largest economy is sliding into recession. Porsche AG, which relies on the US for more than a third of its sales, paced declines by exporters as the American currency dropped to a record low against the euro. UBS AG led a retreat in bank shares on speculation the worst of the credit-market turmoil is not over. Mining stocks fell with metal prices. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index dropped 1.4 percent to 357.74, the fourth straight week of losses. The benchmark has lost 11 percent since reaching a 6 1/2-year high on June 1, on concern defaults among US mortgage borrowers with the poorest credit profiles will hurt economic growth and corporate earnings, Bloomberg News said. "The situation is getting worse with oil and credit problems weighing on equity markets," said Wolfram Mrowetz, who manages the equivalent of

ASIAN stocks rose, reversing earlier declines, on speculation minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting will show the United States economy, the region's biggest overseas market, can weather a slump in values of homes and subprime mortgages. Some shares also climbed on expectations declines this month didn't reflect regional companies' earnings prospects. Mitsui & Co, which lost a fifth of its value in November, advanced. CNOOC Ltd led gains among energy stocks as oil prices rose. "Is subprime going to drag the US economy into recession? I don't think so," said Mona Chung, who helps manage US$2.5 billion at Daiwa Asset Management Ltd in Hong Kong. "Some shares have already dropped to very attractive levels." The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 158.05 at 6:47pm in Tokyo, rallying from an earlier decline of as much as 2.6 percent. The index is still down 7.8 percent this month. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average

Another painful session saw world stockmarkets succumb further to growing fears of a US recession and concerns that the sub-prime cancer will continue to spread and impact significantly on earnings growth next year.

HONG Kong's stocks yesterday rose the most in more than two months after better-than-estimated earnings at Wal-Mart Stores Inc eased concern that the United States economy is headed for a recession. Li & Fung Ltd, a Wal-Mart supplier, jumped the most in almost two weeks. HSBC Holdings Plc, which generated 31 percent of its revenue last year in North America, climbed after Goldman Sachs Group Inc said it doesn't plan to take significant writedowns on mortgage-related assets. "We've got pretty good corporate news that came out from the US, and Wal-Mart definitely helps," said Tat Auyeung, who oversees US$400 million at Apex Capital Management in Hong Kong. "Investors are trying to bargain hunt." The Hang Seng Index climbed 1,362.66, or 4.9 percent, to 29,166.01, the biggest move among markets included in global benchmarks, said Bloomberg News. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks 43 H shares of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, rose 6.8

Wall Street analysts are rapidly losing faith in US companies' ability to rekindle profit growth before the end of the year, raising the prospect of the first "earnings recession" in more than five years

Poor third-quarter earnings and gloomy outlooks heightened concerns about the U.S. economy, triggering a market swoon Friday.

Wells Fargo & Co.'s profit grew at its slowest pace in more than six years during the third quarter, dragged down by deteriorating home loans likely to cause more trouble in the months ahead. The story was similar at U.S. Bancorp, whose earnings slipped by 2 percent amid a traumatic housing downturn that economists say is threatening to yank the economy into a recession.

US stocks rose for a fifth straight week, the longest stretch of gains since May, after minutes from the Federal Reserve and better-than-expected retail sales bolstered hopes that the economy will keep expanding. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, climbed to a two-month high after boosting its third-quarter profit forecast. Yum! Brands Inc, owner of the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurant chains, jumped the most since September 2005 on earnings that topped analysts' estimates. Exxon Mobil Corp, the biggest oil company, led a gauge of energy shares to a record after crude prices rose to an all-time high. Minutes from the Fed's September 18 policy meeting showed central bankers avoided language that might have suggested the economy would fall into a recession. The Commerce Department said retail sales added 0.6 percent last month, from the 0.2 percent gain predicted by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. "The consumer is a staying force, earnings growth is

WALL Street stumbled through a lopsided session yesterday, closing mixed as profit warnings and news from blue chip names Alcoa Inc. and Boeing Co. dragged down the Dow Jones industrial average but largely spared technology stocks. A pullback was to be expected after the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished at new highs Tuesday amid enthusiasm over comments from Federal Reserve policymakers about interest rates, but corporate news appeared to hasten yesterday's slide. Declines by Dow components Boeing and Alcoa, among others, hurt the 30-stock index. Meanwhile, International Paper Co. and Chevron Corp. moved lower on profit news. With investors thumbing through fresh quarterly results and company news, the latest economic readings did little to dislodge the dichotomy between blue chips and tech stocks. A report showed inventories among US wholesalers ticked up in August, while a trade group for real estate agents warned the drop in sales of existing homes this year will be steeper than had been expected. The stock market's uneven but still relatively calm trading yesterday followed the surge the day before that was sparked by release of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting. Wall Street initially was ebullient that the Fed did not appear to rule out further rate cuts but, on reflection, some investors seemed to be questioning whether that response was a little too optimistic. "People are looking backward at what the Fed was discussing to try and discern whether or not we're in a recession," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "Looking in the rearview mirror isn't going to give us that clarity because its history, so instead I'm really looking forward to what corporate earnings will show." The Dow fell 85.84, or 0.61 percent, to 14,078.69 after rising 120 points on Tuesday. Broader stock indicators were mixed. The S&P 500 fell 2.68, or 0.17 percent, to 1,562.47, and the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index rose 7.70, or 0.27 percent, to 2,811.61. Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 4.65 percent, compared with late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose. Light, sweet crude rose US$1.04 to settle at US$81.30 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange following word that workers at Chevron facilities in Nigeria had staged a surprise strike and by a

US stocks have risen for a fourth straight week, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a record, after employment growth eased concern that mortgage losses will cause a recession. Fannie Mae and Morgan Stanley led banks, brokerages and other financial firms in the S&P 500 to their biggest rally since March 2003. Homebuilders surged the most since November 2000 after Citi Investment Research said their shares are cheap, Bloomberg News reported. The Labor Department said American payrolls increased by 110,000 jobs in September and the prior month's decrease of 4,000 was revised to a gain of 89,000. That quelled concern that home-loan losses are dragging down the economy. "Stocks look very good to me," said John Lynch, chief market analyst at Evergreen Investments LLC, which manages US$280 billion in Charlotte, North Carolina. "The jobs report suggests continued economic growth, which should translate to continued profit growth and good market performance." The S&P 500 rose two percent last week to 1,557.59. The index has rebounded 11 percent since August 15, erasing US$1 trillion of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the five-day period up 1.2 percent at 14,066.01 after closing at a record on October 1. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.9 percent to 2,780.32, the highest since February 2001. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose about 0.05 percentage point to 4.64 percent. Traders pared bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this month because of less concern the housing slump will weigh on the broader economy. The central bank reduced its benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent on September 18. Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose 4.5 percent. "We expect to return to a normal earnings environment in the fourth quarter," Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince said. His company is the largest US bank. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan also said the credit slump may be ending. Fannie Mae, the largest provider of money for US home loans, rose 11 percent to US$67.30. Morgan Stanley, the second-largest US broker by market value, climbed 9.4 percent to US$68.90. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley's bigger rival, added 5.4 percent to US$228.50. The S&P Supercomposite Homebuilding Index gained 12 percent, the most in almost seven years. Citi analyst Stephen Kim said at the start of last week that the shares of builders such

Business software maker Oracle overcame the recent economic turbulence that raised recession anxieties to deliver a fiscal first-quarter ...

Does the latest financial crisis signal the end of a golden age of stable growth? IF ECONOMICS were a children's tale, a long period of rising incomes and improving living standards would always be followed by a big, bad recession. Rising unemployment, falling spending and contracting output--such is the inevitable reckoning for the good times of plentiful jobs and abundant earnings that went before. The hangover needs to be commensurate with the party. No country has had it quite so good as America. For the past 20 years or more its economy has managed an enviable combination of steady growth and low inflation. To add to its good fortune, spending has routinely exceeded its income--leading to a persistent current-account deficit--without any apparent ill effects on the economy. The occasional setbacks have been remarkably small by historical standards. At the start of 1991, for instance, America's GDP fell for a second successive quarter (a common definition of a recession). But output soon recovered and by the end of the year had surpassed its previous peak. The next downturn, in 2001, was shallower still, with GDP dipping by less than half a percent.