Earnings slowdown

Corporate profits have, until recently, been on a tear. From the second quarter of 2002 through the third period of 2006, the S&P 500 posted 18 straight quarters of double-digit increases in year-over-year operating earnings. The fourth quarter of 2006, however, slowed to an 8.9% rise, and Standard & Poor's equity analysts don't see another double-digit quarter until at least the end of this year.