Two-thirds of CEOs questioned plan additional layoffs and expect sales to fall over the next six months. "NASTY" EARNINGS Alcoa, the first Dow Jones industrial average component to report quarterly earnings, has already cut thousands of jobs, trimmed spending and raised $1.3 billion to help it through the slowdown. It posted a larger-than-expected loss of $497 million after a slump in aluminium prices, boding ill for the rest of the reporting season. "There's no doubt in my mind that we are in for a really nasty earnings season," said Keith Wirtz, president and chief investment officer of Fifth Third Asset Management. "Alcoa's second consecutive quarterly loss is testament to that. We are in the worst phase of this recession right now." Alcoa's fellow Dow component, General Motors, has racked up billions of dollars in losses as auto sales slump, forcing it to go to taxpayers for a bailout.