NEW YORK -- For almost three years, no matter what has rattled the financial markets – a debt crisis in Europe, high gasoline prices, a slower economy – investors have been soothed by rising corporate profits.
The storyline became as predictable as a soap opera's. But when the latest round of corporate earnings starts rolling in this week, look for a twist: Profits are expected to fall.
"China is still slowing. Manufacturing numbers in the U.S. are weak," says Christine Short, senior manager at Standard & Poor's Global Markets Intelligence. "You can only have so many things working against you."
Stock analysts expect earnings for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index to decline 1 percent for April through June compared with the year before, according to S&P Capital IQ, the research arm of S&P.
Germany’s Constitutional Court was set up after the war as part of an elaborate system of checks and balances. But recently it has been hampering the Germany government’s efforts to solve the euro crisis, much to the annoyance of some politicians in Berlin. Critics accuse the court of wanting to safeguard its own power.
At the last European Union summit, leaders agreed to establish a banking oversight authority. It remains unclear, however, what such a system might look like. The European Central Bank is to play a role, but can it maintain its independence?
