Google is trading far above its flotation price

The numbers are dominated by high-profile brand names such as Ford, AT&T, Coca-Cola and McDonald's.

But big-name techs will be grabbing much of the spotlight - setting long-standing heavyweights IBM and Microsoft alongside the recently-floated Google.

In the face of sky-high oil prices, investors will be keen to see how USA Inc is weathering rising costs.

Fuel impact

Airlines and car makers are among the companies most directly affected by a 70% surge in crude oil prices this year.

In the aviation business, Continental and Delta both report this week.

Investors in Delta are bracing themselves for the worst on Wednesday, after the firm warned its losses would be worse than expected and that it needed steep concessions from workers to stay in the air.

Ford makes most of its money from finance, not from car sales

Its losses are now expected to top $600m, as staff costs and fuel bills bite.

Ford, reporting on Tuesday, has to convince investors that it is continuing to recover from a difficult period - although again its strong finance division is likely to be the only part of the group which turns a proper profit.

Also in the spotlight is McDonald's, whose numbers on Tuesday could show whether its apparent conversion in recent months to healthy eating has nursed it back to financial health after a recent rough patch.

Other brands on the list include Eastman Kodak, whose battle to move from film to digital photography continues; tobacco and consumer goods giant Altria; and soft drinks group Coca-Cola.

Seeking direction

But the dominant strand in the week's events is the army of high-profile tech stocks reporting their performance.

One of the most interesting is also the newest to the market.

Google reports its first set of results as a listed company on Thursday, following its successful - if controversial - August flotation.

If IBM's doing well, it bodes well for the tech sector Ray Rund, Shaker Investments

Analysts are predicting a solid performance from the search firm, after rival Yahoo recently reported rude health in the advertising market. Sales could top $470m and earnings per share are expected to come in above 50 cents.

At $142, the company's shares are already more than 50% above their issue price of $85.

Its fellow web firm, online auction house eBay, is up a day earlier.

Investors may pay close attention following the recent week-long collapse of its Paypal payments unit. But its results are thought likely to be solid, with revenue from its transactions estimated at about $770m and profits of 26 cents a share.

Big guns

IBM, which opens the week's announcements on Monday night, is widely seen as a bellwether for the rest of the technology sector.

Market consensus has the firm earning a profit of $1.14 a share on sales of $23.4bn.

"If they're doing well, it bodes well for the tech sector," said Ray Rund, managing director of Shaker Investments.

"If they're not, it probably indicates a soft patch in IT spending."

Windows still makes Microsoft most of its money

If the soft patch materialises, it could have an effect on the earnings of other tech firms reporting this week.

These include Peoplesoft, whose shareholders will be particularly keen to hear more on its long-lasting battle to avoid being taken over by database giant Oracle.

Payout

It could also affect Microsoft, although the software giant tends to set its own rules.

Its cash pile, totalling tens of billions, and its ability to shift profits around its mammoth operation, mean it has traditionally managed expectations well and been able more or less to make sure it meets them.

This time, analysts are predicting sales of about $9bn, on which it is likely to make a pre-tax profit of as much as $4bn.

Observers will wonder whether investors are in for a repeat of its June decision to return billions to shareholders - a payoff which falls due in December.

The move was widely seen as sign that the market for Windows and Office, the monopoly operating system and software which generate all but a fraction of its profits, is maturing.

But several of the firm's complex corporate licensing agreements are about to wind up, meaning a fresh round of upgrade sales could be in the offing.

Other techs on the list include chipmaker Texas Instruments, mobile phone maker Motorola, and phone firms AT&T and Sprint.