What to Watch for as Alcoa Kicks Off Earnings

Aluminum giant and Dow ($INDU) Industrials component Alcoa (AA) unofficially kicks off fourth-quarter earnings season after Monday's closing bell, but we already know broadly what's in store: The Easy Comparisons have finally arrived. Indeed, the year-ago quarter was so dismal that 2009's returns will look like the before-and-after pictures in a Rogaine ad.