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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: Today the third-quarter earning season begins in earnest. Bullish corporate profits are expected to continue for the most part, but some analysts are watching to see what happens, what impact fuel prices and the housing market will have on earnings. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

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NANCY MARSHALL GENZER: The earnings reports are going to trickle out over the next couple of weeks.

We'll be hearing from some heavy hitters this week — General Electric and publisher Gannett — but the stars this quarter are the energy, housing, tech and retail sectors.

Chris Low, chief economist of FTN Financial, is focused on the effect of tanking gas prices.

CHRIS LOW: That 20 bucks that you're not putting into the SUVs gas tank can be spent on other retail goods.

Retailers may be painting a rosy picture, but Hugh Johnson of Johnson Illington Advisers expects some nasty surprises.

HUGH JOHNSON: You got a few big companies, some of them are technology companies, whose earnings might come in below expectations. There's a couple of sour apples out there, I believe.

But Johnson isn't predicting an upset of the apple cart. He's expecting earnings overall to grow a respectable 12 percent.

In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.