While you were sleeping Caution ahead of earnings

While you were sleeping Caution ahead of earnings
By Margreet Dietz Jan 8 (BusinessDesk) - Wall Street retreated, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index from its five-year high, as investors gear up for the fourth-quarter earnings season. Profits at S&P 500 companies increased an average 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding financial companies, earnings rose 0.5 percent. Alcoa is the first company to report after the market closes on Tuesday. Shares were last down 1 percent. In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average...