By Ben Fox Rubin 
 

With Alcoa Inc. (AA) scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday, the third-quarter earnings session should kick off in earnest next week. Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) are scheduled to report Friday.

Also next week, reports on small business and inflation, as well as the biggest group of initial public offerings in months, are expected.

 
   Two Major Financial Firms Reporting Earnings 
 

As earnings session starts to heat up next week, two U.S. banking giants will weigh in with their latest third-quarter numbers on Friday. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) should give investors an early window into the recent strength of investment banking, while Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) will provide a view of traditional banking's strength.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is expected to post higher earnings, benefiting from a favorable comparison to a lackluster quarter a year earlier. The company earlier this year posted billions in losses from a derivative-trading debacle known as the "London Whale," though it has signaled that most of the losses are behind it.

Meanwhile, analysts predict Wells Fargo will report improved profit on the continued strength of its mortgage-banking business, notably from homeowners refinancing for lower rates. Investors will also be looking to see if the company's commercial lending business remains strong.

Webster Financial Corp. (WBS) and Bank of the Ozarks Inc. (OZRK) also are expected to report their latest results.

 
  Grab Bag of Retailers, Industrials 
 

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (AA), typically the first major U.S. company to report quarterly results, is expected to release its earnings Tuesday. The industrial bellwether has been struggling in recent quarters with declining aluminum prices--a result of the weakened global economy--and analysts forecast a profit decline.

Yum Brands Inc. (YUM), which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, should post stronger results Tuesday, though investors will likely focus on whether its China business--a major driver of its recent profit gains--will continue growing at a slower pace.

Also, retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), supermarket operator Safeway Inc. (SWY) and privately held agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. are scheduled to report quarterly results.

 
   Data on Small Business, Trade Deficit 
 

Next week's varied reports will cover small business, the trade deficit and inflation.

Small business owners have been a prime focus of the presidential election given smaller firms' large share of job creation.

The state of small business will be reported Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business. The optimism index is expected to rise to 93.5 in September, from 92.9 in August, says the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

The U.S. trade deficit is on tap Thursday. Mostly because of higher oil prices, economists think the August deficit widened to $44.3 billion from $42.0 billion in July.

Inflation readings will be released Thursday, with the import price index, and Friday, with the producer price index. Economists think higher oil prices pushed up total import prices by 0.8% in September.

 
   Bumper Crop of IPOs 
 

There are nine initial public offerings scheduled for next week, the most since the week of March 26, according to Dealogic. Workday Inc., Shutterstock Inc. and Realogy Holdings Corp. are among the group.

Realogy, the largest residential real-estate services firm in the country, owns and franchises residential real-estate brokerages, including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.

The company is seeking to go public some five years after Apollo Management LP took it private at the height of the housing market in a highly leveraged $8.5 billion deal. It has been rough sailing for Realogy since then as its business deteriorated in the housing bust.

Workday provides business-management software for payroll, financial management, time tracking and employee expense management. Shutterstock, a photography agency, sources content from videographers and photographers and licenses it to businesses, advertisers and media organizations.

 
   AMR Pilots Push for Appeal 
 

American Airlines pilots on Tuesday will make their case against an immediate and unilateral overhaul of their employment terms while they appeal the bankruptcy court ruling that gave the airline the right to implement the changes.

In fighting to delay the judge's ruling from taking effect, the pilots will square off against the unsecured creditors of American parent AMR Corp. (AAMRQ). The creditors say the pilots aren't likely to succeed in their appeal, so there is no need for any delay.

 
  Conferences 
 

Among the conferences scheduled for next week are Banco BTG Pactual SA Latin American Conference from Tuesday to Thursday in New York City and Deutsche Bank Leveraged Finance Conference from Tuesday to Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

--Jacqueline Palank and Kathleen Madigan contributed to this story.

Write to Ben Fox Rubin at ben.rubin@dowjones.com

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