Apple accounts for more than 100% of the S&P's earnings growth last quarter

Stunning.  And frightening.

Courtesy of Ajay Makan and Dan McCrum at the FT, Barclays Capital estimates that based on reporting thus far earnings growth for S&P 500 companies was 7 percent in Q4. 

But if you strip out Apple, that plummets to 2.9 percent. One company, in other words, is responsible for most of the earnings growth among the large cap firms in the index.