Earnings season starts today–all eyes will be on guidance, especially for the financials

Earnings season for the second quarter starts officially today when Alcoa reports. Analyst estimates call for S&P 500 earnings growth of just 1.8% this quarter. Far and away the highest expectations are for the financial sector where earnings are projected to grow by 17%. Take away that performance by financials and earnings growth for the rest of the S&P 500 is projected to drop by 1%.

Aloca’s earnings report sets the market to thinking about slowing growth

It’s not the dimension; it’s the direction that has the financial markets worried this morning after Alcoa (AA) reported third quarter earnings of 3 cents a share—excluding non-recurring items. That was better than the consensus estimate of a flat quarter. The problem, though, is that those better than consensus numbers came with a lower company forecast on global aluminum demand for 2012