Standard & Poor
ORG
Standard & Poor
Operating profits for the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index are expected to grow by 10.6 percent this year, but as recently as the end of last year the consensus forecast was a gain of 12.9 percent, David Rosenberg, an economist at Merrill Lynch, said in a note to investors.  David Rosenberg, an economist at Merrill Lynch, said Operating profits for the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index are expected to grow by 10.6 percent this year but at the end of last year the consensus forecast was a gain of 12.9 percent