Investors need to be ready for a downright nasty earnings season. Already, we are seeing some companies cut their earnings estimates by drastic proportions. If you are not prepared, it could get painful.

China unveiled yesterday (Sunday) what it described as a “massive” economic stimulus package – a planned capital infusion of $586 billion that it plans to use to reverse its slowing growth, to loosen credit and to offset slowing global growth by stoking domestic demand.

Siemens Settle Bribery Charges for $1.3 Billion; Google Walks From Yahoo; Enbridge Channels 88% Profit Growth; FCC Approves Sprint-Clearwire Merger; GMAC Finance Revenue Stuck in Reverse; Time Warner Revenue Unchanged; Molson Coors Pops; News Corp. Profit Down 30%

Both the ISM Index and ISM Services reports come out this week, and it looks like the slide continues. The Index report coming out this morning is likely to show a drop to 42.0 from last month’s 43.5 reading.

After watching its shares plunge more than 20% over the past month, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) decided to embrace a different strategy with regards to its looming third-quarter profit report: It opted to get out in front of the flood of corporate earnings reports that are headed this way by providing Wall Street with a preview of its third-quarter results.

Freddie Mac’s Grim Quarter; Sprint Swings to 2Q Loss; Time Warner Could Dump AOL; Lonmin Rejects Xstrata Offer; Ambac Posts Record Net Profit; Playboy Stripped of Earnings; Oil Prices Continue Slide

News Corp. (NWS), the media giant owned by Rupert Murdoch, will strengthen its presence in India with the creation of six regional television channels.Murdoch has in the past warned that an advertising slowdown in the newspaper and television industries would have a decidedly negative impact on U.S. media businesses. At the same time, however, India’s entertainment market is just beginning to realize its potential.

About 17 million viewers joined India’s burgeoning television market in the first half of 2008. Television advertising responded to the broader audience, growing 26% in the first six months of the year.

The media and entertainment market in India is expected to grow by 18.5% by 2012, according to consultancy firm PwC. That’s the fastest among the BRIC countries…

Christian Hill at Investors Daily Edge looks ahead so some important data releases and earnings reports this week. Top of the bill is today’s Fed meeting, where Bernanke & Co are almost certain to keep rates unchanged…

Big Media are ignoring the real problems in the oil market, says energy expert Dave Gonigam in The Daily Reckoning.

Wells Fargo Jumps 32% on Dividend Hike; Crude Falls $10 in Two Days; Home Building Collapses; Gazprom Threatens to Take Belarus to Court; Gannett’s 2nd Quarter Tumble; SK Telecom Eyes up Sprint?; Time Warner Travels to Seattle; Delta’s $1 Billion Loss Turns to Gains