We’ve been warning you since the start that the subprime crisis would have some real staying power.Indeed, every time optimistic prognosticators have predicted an end to this global financial debacle, we’ve had the same response: Don’t you believe it.

Can it be earnings season already? It sure is, but don’t expect too much. With its report tomorrow (Tuesday), Alcoa Inc. (AA) leads off what is expected to be a pretty dismal series of profit reports.

Earnings season is upon us. Aluminum giant Alcoa (NYSE:AA) reports 2Q results tomorrow. General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) follows suit on Friday.

Stock futures rose this morning ahead results from these bellwethers, mainly buoyed by lower crude oil prices and a stronger dollar. CNN reports that at 8:50 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher, suggesting a stronger open for Wall Street.

But how will stock prices play out on earnings news? Rick Pendergraft in Investor’s Daily Edge says oversold US stocks will rally this week. But expect the selling to resume soon…

There has been little said about BHP Billiton Ltd.’s (BHP) attempted takeover of Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) in recent months, but the proposal is far from dead.

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?

MySpace Expands Deeper into Cyberspace; News Corp. Posts $2.7 Billion Profit; Gasoline and Crude Hit New Records; Weekly Unemployment Applications Decline; Latin America Attracts $106 Billion in 2007; ECB and BOE on Pause; New Alcoa CEO; Barr Comes Up Short.

There are lots of reasons why a small company share can go up in price quickly. Usually it’s an innovative new product, a new market, or, in some cases, a sudden change in the market value of a good, product, or service.

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?

U.S. markets dropped on a disappointing initial round of first-quarter earnings.

The U.S. buyout market is about to enter a new phase, as corporate takeovers pick up where private-equity firms left off last fall. The deal-making market is a key to the health of the U.S. stock market.