Friday morning got off to a bearish start, a slump that wasn't helped much by the latest release of consumer sentiment data from Reuters and the University of Michigan (of course, this slow start turned positive thanks to the GDP).

Big Boo's report showed that consumer sentiment weakened from 68.2 in September to 67.7 in October. An earlier estimate for October was 67.9, with a MarketWatch poll showing an estimate for 68.5. The biggest problem facing consumers is the loss of jobs, which was the major reason for the drop in sentiment.

The earnings crunch continues this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating lots of strong quarterly reports.

For example, year-over-year earnings growth from big oil Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), ExxonMobil (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) are expected to be in double digits. The same is true of many other energy and mining concerns reporting this week: Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Alliant Energy (LNT), Arch Coal (ACI), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), CMS Energy (CMS), CONSOL Energy (CNX), DPL (DPL), Hess Corp. (HES), Minerals Technologies (MTX), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), PPL Corp. (PPL), Southwestern Energy (SWN), Total (TOT), Whiting Petroleum (WLL), Williams Companies (WMB) and Wisconsin Energy (WEC).

The earnings season kicked off last week with better-than-expected results from Alcoa (AA) and Yum! Brands (YUM), while Marriott (MAR) and Pepsico (PEP) met consensus EPS estimates. This week, bellwether companies Intel (INTC), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are scheduled to report their third-quarter results, and analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are looking for earnings growth from all of them.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel announced the acquisition of McAfee and joint ventures with General Electric and Nokia (NOK) during its third quarter. Analysts forecast earnings for that period to come to 50 cents per share, which is up 34.0% from the same period of last year. The number one semiconductor maker's revenue for the three months ended in September is expected to total $11.0 billion, or 17.1% more than a year earlier. Looking ahead to the full year, the forecast thus far is for earnings of $1.94 per share (+44.8%) and $43.3 billion in revenue (+23.4%). The per-share earnings topped analysts' expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as a dime per share.

This morning, the Energy Department reported a surprise increase in oil inventories, leading crude futures lower thus far. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude oil stockpiles increased 3.1 million barrels. Analysts had expected a decrease of 1.3 million barrels in crude oil inventories. Despite the surprise, oil prices weren't as low as one would think. November-dated crude was trading below $83 per barrel shortly after the inventory report.

The market is roughly a hundred points lower as we head into the final hours of trading, with many factors combining to push investors to the bearish side.

One the mitigating factors is today's data on U.S. factory orders. According to the Commerce Department, factory orders dropped 0.5% in August - marking the third monthly drop in the past four. Perhaps this news is a bit more negative considering orders increased 0.4% in July.

Alcoa (AA), Marriott (MAR) and Yum! Brands (YUM) kick off the new earnings season this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for moderate year-over-year earnings and revenue growth in the third quarter from each of these dividend payers.

Note that Marriott and Yum! Brands have exceeded consensus estimates in recent quarters and have First Call consensus buy recommendations as well. They are also trading near their 52-week highs, while Alcoa shares are closer to the 52-week low despite a 22% rise in the past three months.

Early Wednesday morning, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that crude inventories dropped 2.4 million barrels during the past week. According to Platt's, inventories were expected to increase by 2.2 million barrels.

The report also showed that there was an increase in gasoline inventories, with distillates dropping. While the Energy Department is going to report its weekly supply data later Wednesday, crude futures inched higher above $76 per barrel.

According to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, home prices increased during July, marking the fourth-straight month. During July, the home price index increased 0.6% compared to June and 3.2% from a year earlier. While this is good news, seven of the cities surveyed saw monthly declines, while gains in a number of the cities were weaker than a month earlier.

There is fear that the home-buying boost provided by the government tax credits is wearing off. If this is the case, we could see weak demand cropping up from the housing sector. The fear is that the record number of foreclosures, job concerns and weak demand from buyers are pointing to weaker home sales in the coming months. Nevertheless, the news will be viewed as positive. That is simply the way that many analysts will cling to good news.

One of the most prominent quarterly reports scheduled this week, as the quarter winds down, comes from Walgreen (WAG). Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for the drugstore chain operator to report Tuesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings were about the same as a year ago, or 45 cents per share. Note, though, that Walgreen fell short of earnings expectations in the previous two quarters.

During the three months that ended in August, Deerefield, Ill.-based Walgreen launched a social responsibility website and boosted its dividend. Revenue for that period is expected to total $16.8 billion, which is a 7.3% increase from the same period of last year. And for the full year, analysts forecast EPS of $2.12 (+4.7%) on revenue of $67.4 billion (+6.4%).

Last week, the Fed's Beige Book report confirmed that the economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace than in previous periods. This week will bring plenty of economic data to either support or contrast with the Fed's findings.

• Monday: Federal government budget balance for August
• Tuesday: Business inventory numbers from July, TIPP Economic Optimism Index for September, retail sales data from August
• Wednesday: Industrial production in August, Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, Import Price Index for August
• Thursday: Producer Price Index for August, Philly Fed Survey for September, the Current Account Balance in the second quarter, jobless claims for last week
• Friday: preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, Consumer Price Index for August, real earnings data for August

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. While the June report showed modest growth across the districts, the July report showed that the economic recovery had slowed, even stalled in some districts.

Other economic data due out this holiday-shortened week include:

Wednesday morning got off to a slow start for the market as a whole, and the July home sales report didn't going to help matters much. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales plummeted 12.4% in July compared to June.

The drop brings the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace to 276,600, far short of the expected pace of 330,000. Not only is this pace short of the expected result, but it is the slowest pace on record, which dates back to 1963.

Investors and economists received a rather nasty surprise this morning when the Labor Department released its weekly data on initial claims for jobless benefits. According to the Labor Department, new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 19,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 479,000.

The government did note that some of the surprise increase (a small decrease was expected) may be attributed to difficulties the government has in adjusting for seasonal factors. The four-week average of initial claims increased by 5,250 to 452,250.

Wall Street has been on a tear lately. The major indexes gained 7% during the month of July. That's coming off a 14% decline in May and June. Trading volume was light, about 7.63 billion shares, compared with last year's 9.65 billion. Advancing stocks outnumbered losing stocks by a three to two margin. The S&P 500 is barely squeaking above its 200-day moving average.

Traders are torn between strong earnings and weak economic data. For the most part, earnings of major corporations topped analysts' estimates. But the numbers on the economy show that the recovery is slowing.

Gross domestic product growth slowed to a 2.4% pace, the slowest in nearly a year, the Commerce Department announced Friday. The reading of this measure of economic activity is too weak to push down unemployment. The quarter saw consumers spend less and retailers limit stock, this combined with the fact that the trade deficit had a larger impact on the economy and we have the formula for some rather unpleasant economic news.

Combine this report with the one indicating that the recession was worse than originally thought and our rosy picture of the economy takes a noticeably gray tint.