Earnings Season Likely to Confirm U.S. Profit Recession Major U.S. companies stand a good chance of reporting fourth-quarter results that show earnings have fallen two quarters in a row, marking a recession.  Forecasts call for a 4.2% decline in earnings and a 3.2% decrease in revenue for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.  Bernard Condon, AP business writer, discusses the issues and what to ...