Chart of the Day -- S&P Earnings

Here, from Standard & Poors' data, is a visual representation of earnings projections by sector. I've plotted the year-over-year change in the second and third quarters of 2007 (Q2 2007 and Q3 2007)

Click on the chart for a larger image. Some important points ...

Standard & Poor's U.S. corporate earnings projections for Q3 has slipped from prior levels, and are now negative for the quarter. On a year-over-year basis, the S&P 500 earnings are expected to decline 8.48% from Q3 2006, marking the first such negative quarter since 2001 (-24.2%).

As recently as October, the consensus estimates were for a gain of 3.3%.

Consumer discretionary is the big loser, down 38.94%. Financials are a close second, down 33.15%. I'd expect those financials earnings to continue to deteriorate.

But even sectors you think would be immune are getting hit. Check out energy -- in the second quarter, earnings were up 8.7% year over year. In the third quarter, earnings are projected to fall 9.92% year over year.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com