[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Wall Street is anticipating a big week.  Among the big investment banks and commercials banks out of the gate, Wells Fargo was the first to report its Q4 earnings last Friday.  The San Francisco, CA-based bank posted a record profit, exceeding analysts' expectations for both profit and revenue.  Will the rest of Wall Street fare as well?

Who's Next

• Wednesday: Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase
• Thursday: Bank of America, Citigroup, and Intel
• Friday: General Electric

Factoring into Wall Street's expectations are:

• the rise of equities following the initial resolution of the fiscal cliff
• the S&P 500's 2nd straight week of gains as of Friday's close
• an increase in the KBW bank index, a gauge of U.S. bank stocks, up some 30% from a low hit in June

"The banks have a read on the economy, on the health of consumers, on the health of demand.  What we're looking for is demand. Demand from small business owners, from consumers." -- Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.

For further details, go to [Reuters, 1/11/13] and [The Ledger, 1/11/13].