Wall Street and exchange traded funds (ETFs) are feeling woozy this morning after a slew of less-than-stellar earnings reports. Now that credit markets are improving, the focus is turning to the corporate earnings that have been issued in recent days, many of them heightening fears of a deep recession.
Hundreds of companies will be releasing their numbers for the third-quarter and in some cases, they will be making fourth-quarter forecasts, says Tim Paradis for the Associated Press.
Wachovia (WB) reported that its profit fell 28% and that it will cut 10% of its workforce. But banks aren’t the only sector getting smacked – Boeing’s (B) earnings fell 38% as a strike stopped production of commercial jets. The company already has a backlog of orders.
Tech companies have been hit hard on a drop in consumer and business spending, reports Martin Crutsinger for the Associated Press.