Up 11% ex financials, and if you do it ex financial writeoffs and include financial operating earnings its higher than that.

The risks to 2008 come from perceived risks of a general slowdown that hasn’t happened yet.

They also point to the January payroll number to support their 2008 concerns. Yes, payrolls are a concern which may solidify if the first revision next month isn’t upward by at least 50,000.

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=NzM4NTU2 .

Q4 Earnings Really Weren’t Too Bad — Except For Banking

by Ed Carson

Corporate profits can be boom or bust. Right now they’re both. With 58% of the S&P 500 reporting results as of Monday morning, fourth-quarter earnings are on track to dive 20.7% from a year earlier, according to Thomson Financial. It would be the worst showing since the fourth quarter of…

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