P&G;, Nextel, Health-Care Firms to Report Earnings

The rush of earnings reports eases somewhat this week, although Wall Street still has a slew of corporate scorecards to pick through. About four-fifths of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 have issued earnings so far, and profits have fallen 5.2% from a year ago, according to market research firm First Call/Thomson Financial. The earnings for the whole S&P; 500 this quarter are projected to hit 7%, compared with profit growth of 23.6% a year ago. Among the week’s key reports: consumer products giant and Dow member Procter & Gamble and wireless phone company Nextel Communications. Health-care firms Humana, Cigna, Health Net and PacifiCare Health Systems report this week, as do drug store chains Rite Aid Corp. and CVS Corp. No. 2 U.S. restaurateur Tricon Global Restaurants issues its results on Tuesday, followed by hamburger chain Wendy’s International on Wednesday. Southern California companies scheduled to report results this week include real estate investment trust Arden Realty and computer wholesaler Ingram Micro.