S&P heads to first quarter ever of negative earnings

As of today, 390 of the S&P's 500 companies have reported 4th quarter earnings and reported a collective loss - even excluding financials. "After the sixth quarter of negative growth, it will be the first quarter ever of negative earnings," said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor's. A sixth quarter of negative growth ties the prior record set from the 1Q1951 to 2Q1952. "And next quarter we're expected a new record of seven quarters of negative growth," Silverblatt said. S&P earnings-per-share are reported at a loss of $10.44 for the quarter. If financials were taken out of the equation, that EPS deficit would drop to $2.35. "The majority of it is financials, but the biggest issue to hit was ConocoPhillips. That one charge accounted for $3.66," said Silverblatt.

Subprime's plague infects "Alt-A" mortgages

Economic concerns are shifting as "Alt-A" mortgages sour at an alarming pace. While credit-rating agencies play catch-up to the dismal reality, bankers are realizing that more trouble may be on the horizon. With US unemployment heading toward 8%, even more loans, including prime-mortgage loans, are expected to go bad. (Source: The Economist)