Merrill Analyst Is Bearish on Second Half

Amid mixed signals on the economic front, a few bears are starting to show their claws.

Richard Bernstein, chief U.S. strategist at Merrill Lynch, is the latest one to voice concerns, saying Monday that investors' hopes for an economic and corporate rebound in the second half are overly optimistic.

Bernstein said only four of the 10 indicators that he follows suggest that profits will be stronger than estimates, and that these indicators are based on technical factors. In the past, he noted, such technical factors haven't been followed by a recovery in corporate earnings. ...