Most companies to report poor performances for the last quarter

Most of the companies in the financial sector are expected to report poor performance for the last quarter. More than half of the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index had reported June-quarter profits by July 29. It now appears the S&P 500 will post a 19% year-over-year decline for the quarter.
Calculations by S&P's Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist, and Steve Biggar, managing director of global equity research reveal, that "most of the blame goes to the financial sector, which is now projected to record a 90% decline in results.