US stocks ended mixed yesterday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite closing on opposite sides of the flat line. Q1 US company earnings so far are beating expectations, which is positive (albeit from a much reduced level as 3 months ago), but they are coming up light on revenue, which is bothersome. Not all of the shortfalls are attributable to the translational impact of the stronger US$, which makes even more for a sup-par grade for this earnings season.