Next week holds more earnings reports for the big banks

Last week the financials rebounded after a series of “it’s not as bad as we thought it was” earnings reports.  The coming week will bring earnings from several banks, the largest of which include Bank of America and Wachovia.

Bank of America is expected to report larger earnings as compared to the same quarter last year.   Analysts expect profits of 54 cents per share versus 23 cents per share last year.  Wachovia on the other hand is expected to post a larger loss, approximately 43 cents per share versus a loss of 21 cents per share last year.

Pretty mixed bag there.

The financials finished the week on an upbeat note and next week’s earnings will dictate whether the recent rally stalls or continues.  It would be nice to see the financials recover some of the recent losses, however the portion of those losses due to excessive speculation (as opposed to proper valuation) is yet to be determined.