Kickoff preview for Q1 Reporting

Aluminum giant Alcoa is the first of the blue chips to report - expect that at the end of the trading day on Monday. Others worth noting this earnings season include: General Electric with its breadth in the industrial, energy and financial sectors; banking giant Citigroup which will give a strong indication of how the recovery is faring in the financial sector; food maker Nestlé for its activities in emerging markets and Intel and Microsoft for indications on PC and consumer spending.