Asian stocks just cannot catch a break. Fresh from being whipsawed by rising geopolitical tensions over Taiwan, they now face what is forecast to be the worst earnings season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earnings per share for MSCI Asia Pacific Index members slid 16 percent in the three months through June from a year earlier, the steepest decline in eight quarters, analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence showed. That contrasts with a 9 percent gain for companies in the S&P 500 Index even as the US economy edged toward a recession. The prospect of dwindling profits adds to the