NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Soft economic news, a selloff in cyclical stocks and some high-profile profit warnings have convinced some on Wall Street that the economy is set to slow -- and drag down overall corporate earnings with it.

Of course, just two weeks ago, stock investors were worried that the economy was in danger of heating up too fast, and that inflation would spiral out of control. (For more on the recent shift that has taken place, click here.)

And though earnings growth in 2005 will slow from strong rates in 2003 and 2004, growth is still forecasted to top the historical average, and should accelerate in the second half of this year, according to Thomson Financial.

Roughly 147 companies report quarterly earnings next week. For a look at the top 20, click here.

While it's been a choppy period for stocks all year, things have gotten even choppier. The Dow industrials, the broader S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite have all slumped to more than five-month lows in the past few days, and analysts say that further declines are on tap.

Partly, the selloff relates to significant technical factors breaking down, traders say. But there's no ignoring the weak economic news, including a weak read on March retail sales and Friday's surprise drop in the NY Empire State index, a key measure of regional manufacturing.

In terms of the stocks that have been in favor, sectors that benefit from a fast-growing global economy and higher oil prices -- such as oil, copper and materials stocks -- have swapped places with more defensive plays.

"I think there's definitely been a (psychological) shift," said Jim Melcher, president of hedge fund Balestra Capital.

"People are looking at the negative pre-announcements from GM and IBM, the retail sales reports, the hiring trends, and they're waking up to the fact that the consumer is slowing down, and that's going to impact the economy and corporations."

At the same time, worries about inflation and the pace of rising interest rates haven't disappeared and the pace at which the Fed will raise rates continues to preoccupy the markets.

"I think what's going to be key going forward will be the tradeoff (in the economic news) between the statistics on employment and statistics on inflation," said John Davidson, president and CEO at PartnerRe Asset Management.

A weakening in the job market would be more likely to encourage the Fed to slow down its pace than strong data would be likely to cause it to pick up the pace, he added.

"That tradeoff will be key to what the Fed does and what effects the earnings side of stocks in terms of P/E (price-to-earnings) ratios," he added.

For the time being, the earnings side looks fine.

Thomson Financial estimates that first-quarter blended earnings are currently on track to rise about 8.6 percent versus a year ago. That's up from the long-term average of 7.6 percent and up from just two weeks ago, when earnings were only expected to rise by 8.1 percent.

Blended earnings refers to the blend of earnings already reported and earnings forecasts.

Forecasts have been upwardly revised, due to the impact of higher energy earnings forecasts, but also because of better-than-expected results from companies such as General Electric and Citigroup.

Second-quarter earnings are expected to rise 7.6 percent, third-quarter earnings are expected to rise 15.8 percent and fourth-quarter earnings are expected to rise 12.3 percent, according to Thomson Financial. Actual results typically come in higher than forecasts.

"A lot of the projected growth we're seeing for the second half of the year has to do with the financial sector, with the extensive merger activity we've seen in recent months," said Thomson Financial research analyst David Dropsey. "A lot of the benefit of that doesn't hit the financials until six or eight months after."

Financial sector earnings are only expected to grow 1 percent year-over-year in the first quarter and 3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the sector is expected to see growth of about 27 percent year-over-year, while the growth should be 18 percent in the fourth quarter.

Monday

• 3M (Research) is expected to report earnings of $1.101 per share, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by First Call, up from 90 cents a year ago.
• Bank of America (Research) is expected to have earned 97 cents per share, a nickel more than a year ago.
• Eli Lilly (Research) is expected to have earned 66 cents per share, down from 70 cents a year ago.
• Texas Instruments (Research) likely earned 23 cents per share, according to forecasts. The chipmaker earned 21 cents a year ago.

Tuesday

• Coca-Cola (Research) is expected to have earned 43 cents per share, down from 46 cents a year ago.
• General Motors (Research) is expected to post a loss of $1.50 per share, after posting a profit of $2.25 a year ago.
• Johnson & Johnson (Research) likely earned 92 cents per share, according to forecasts, after earnings 83 cents a year ago.
• Lucent Technologies (Research) is expected to have earned 4 cents per share, after earning 2 cents a year ago.
• Merrill Lynch (Research) is expected to have earned $1.17 per share, down from $1.22 a year ago.
• Pfizer (Research) is expected to have earned 53 cents per share, a penny more than a year ago.
• Intel (Research) is expected to have earned 31 cents per share, three cents more than a year ago.
• Yahoo! (Research) is expected to have earned 11 cents per share, five cents more than a year ago.

Wednesday

• Altria (Research) is expected to have earned $1.22 per share, up from $1.13 a year ago.
• Caterpillar (Research) is expected to have earned $1.35 per share, up from $1.16 a year ago.
• Ford Motor (Research) is expected to have earned 38 cents per share, after earning 96 cents a year ago.
• JP Morgan Chase (Research) is expected to have earned 70 cents per share, down from 92 cents a year ago.
• eBay (Research) is expected to report earnings of 18 cents per share, two cents more than a year ago.

Thursday

• Delta Air Lines (Research) is expected to report a loss of $4.84 per share, wider than the $3.12 per share it lost a year ago.
• McDonald's (Research) is expected to have earned 43 cents per share, three cents more than a year ago.
• Merck (Research) likely earned 58 cents per share, analysts' estimate. The drugmaker earned 73 cents a year ago.