A Short List Of Earnings Dates By Which To Measure The 'October Effect'

With the October earnings season off to a rocky start in the stock market on worries linked to deflating oil prices and a stronger dollar, analysts are nonetheless forecasting that average corporate results will grow 6.4 percent from a year earlier. Statisticians safely conclude the dreaded "October Effect," if any, is a matter of superstition rather than reality, yet 1929's Black Tuesday, Thursday and Monday all occurred during the month. The less consequential crash of 1987 came on Tuesday, Oct. 19 and the Friday the Thirteenth "Mini-Crash" of 1989 also shared the season. And so when marking one's calendar for the day the little devils show up at the door demanding free candy, one might also hope for a little sweet news to digest in the days ahead. And here comes a short list: •JPMorgan Chase & Co.

is expected by Wall Street analysts to post earnings Oct. 14 before the market opens of $1.38 a share on revenue of $23.99 billion. •Google Inc.

is expected to post earnings Oct. 16 after the close of $6.54 a share on revenue of $16.58 billion. •UnitedHealth Group Inc.

is expected to post earnings Oct. 16 before the market opens of $1.53 a share on revenue of $32.77 billion. •General Electric Company (GE) Oct 17 before the open is expected to post profit of $0.38 cents a share on revenue of $36.9 billion. •International Business Machines Corporation

is expected to post earnings Oct. 16 after the close of $4.32 a share on revenue of $23.41 billion. •Apple Inc.

is expected to post earnings Oct. 20 after the market close of $1.30 a share on revenue of $39.75 billion. •McDonald's Corp.

Oct. 21 before the market opens of $1.38 a share on revenue of $7.20 billion. •AT&T, Inc.

on Oct. 22 is expected to post before the open profits of $0.65 cents a share on revenue of $33.45 billion. •Caterpillar Inc.

is expected to post earnings Oct. 23 before the market opens of $1.36 a share on revenue of $13.26 billion. •Microsoft Corp.

is expected to post earnings Oct. 23 after the close of $0.49 cents a share on revenue of $22.02 billion. •General Motors Co.

will post results Oct. 23 before the open estimated at $0.99 cents a share on revenue of $39.6 billion. •Ford Motor Co.

on Oct. 24 before the open is expected to post earnings of $0.22 cents a share on revenue of $33.66 billion. •McKesson Corp.

on Oct. 28 after the close is expected to post earnings of $2.72 a share on revenue of $42.97 billion. •Verizon Communications Inc.

on Oct. 29 after the close is expected to report earnings of $0.92 cents a share on revenue of $31.55 billion. •Phillips 66

is slated to report earnings Oct. 29 before the open of $1.70 a share on revenue of $46.6 billion. •Cardinal Health Inc.

is expected to post earnings Oct. 30 before the bell of $0.96 cents a share on revenue of $22.46 billion. •Exxon Mobil Corp.

, the world's largest company by revenue, is expected to report profits Oct. 31 before the open of $1.79 a share on revenue of $107.77 billion. •Chevron Corp. (NYSE CVX) is expected to post earnings Oct. 31 before the market of $2.67 a share on revenue of $57.87 billion. •Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

, whose revenue is the word's fourth largest, is expected to post profits Nov. 13 of $1.13 a share on revenue of $118.55 billion. •Hewlett-Packard Co.

on Nov. 25 after the close is expected to post earnings of $1.06 a share on revenue of $28.81 billion.