A.M. MARKET UPDATE 07.13.09

MARKET FACES EARNINGS REPORTS
CNN/MONEY: The spring stock market rally has lost momentum right as investors are primed to face another big hurdle: the start of the second-quarter reporting period . . . Currently, S&P earnings are expected to have declined 36% in the second quarter versus a year ago . . . The S&P 500 is on track to post its eighth straight quarter of weaker profits . . . READ MORE

GOLDMAN SACHS: 'BLOWOUT' PROFIT
NEW YORK TIMES: Up and down Wall Street, analysts and traders are buzzing that Goldman, which only recently paid back its government bailout money, will report blowout profits from trading on Tuesday. Analysts predict the bank earned more than $2 billion in the March-June period . . . READ MORE

SLOW RECOVERY PUSHES OIL DOWN
USA TODAY: Slack worldwide demand for energy and concern that the economic recovery will be slower than hoped are pushing oil prices down and threatening the profits and stock prices of energy companies . . . READ MORE

RECOVERY 'UNLIKELY' THIS YEAR
REUTERS: "The market has been too optimistic about a global economic recovery later this year, but that now looks unlikely to happen, so oil prices are languishing," said David Moore, a commodities analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia . . . READ MORE

AIRLINE TROUBLES GET WORSE
WALL STREET JOURNAL: The recession, plunging travel demand and a tough lending environment are battering U.S. airlines, raising the prospect of a liquidity squeeze that could lead to bankruptcy filings by winter if conditions don't improve. The five largest hub-and-spoke carriers are expected to report second-quarter losses . . . READ MORE

LENDER C.I.T. FIGHTS TO SURVIVE
WALL STREET JOURNAL: CIT Group Inc. officials spent the weekend trying to hash out a plan that would help calm markets and convince customers and investors that it can work its way out of a deepening liquidity crunch . . . CIT executives were worried that customers would be rattled by reports over the weekend that it hired a prominent law firm to prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing after so far failing to get additional government assistance . . . READ MORE

SOTOMAYOR HEARINGBEGINS IN SENATE TODAY

EASY CONFIRMATION EXPECTED
WASHINGTON TIMES: The Supreme Court confirmation prospects of Judge Sonia Sotomayor appeared good Sunday . . . Republicans indicated they don't expect a filibuster . . . The Senate Judiciary Committee starts at 10 a.m. Monday the confirmation hearing of Judge Sotomayor to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter . . . READ MORE