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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors are gearing up for the unofficial start of corporate earnings season, but they're also bracing for another round of bad headlines out of Europe.That means stocks will probably bounce around next week as the market remains torn between rising hopes for the U.S. economy and the ever-present government debt and bankingIn Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet in Berlin on Monday to prepare for a summit of European Union leaders later this month. The meeting will come days before Italy and Spain hold their firstof the year. Italy and Spain both need to refinance billions of euros worth of debt and investors have been demanding higher interest rates amid worries about the governments' ability to enact reforms."The focus in the coming week will be on the supply side, where Spain on Thursday and Italy on Friday will make their auction debuts this year following the substantial rise in yields in the past week," said Tobias Blattner, eurozone economist at Daiwa Capital Markets, in a note to clients.Investors will also be keeping an eye on Greece, where Prime Minister Lucas Papademos needs to push through more austerity reforms to secure more bailout funds later this year. In addition,and banks over a voluntary 50% reduction in the value of Greek government bonds have been progressing at a slow pace.The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady at 1% when its governing council meets Thursday in Frankfurt. The ECB cut rates last month and announced a series ofto help banks avoid a credit crunch.Despite the central bank's efforts, worries about the capital needs of European banks intensified last week afterBack in the United States, investors will be focused on corporate results and economic reports such as data on retail sales.Alcoa () will set the tone for the banking sector Friday when it releases its latest quarterly report. The giant financial services company is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 93 cents per share, down 17% from the same period last year.The main attraction on the economic calendar is Thursday's report on December retail sales from the Commerce Department. Other items include data on consumer credit, weekly claims for unemployment benefits and the U.S. trade balance.Investors have been encouraged by a recent string of upbeat reports on the U.S. economy, including a larger-than-expectedand a drop in the unemployment rate during December.Meanwhile, the automotive and technology sector may get some attention next week when two key trade shows get underway.General Motors (Millions of investors are scared about buying stocks right now -- even though now seems like a time to be more optimistic. With some small positive signs on the jobs front and improving consumer confidence, thein the world's face, then fears of a double-dip recession could quickly disappear, setting the stage for a monumental bull market. At least with some stocks, Wall Street analysts seem to be getting a whiff of that optimism. Even though they've recently gotten burned during the market meltdown and financial crisis, analysts have started to push upward their earnings estimates for a select group of stocks. That bodes well for those companies' prospects going forward. Today, I want to look at the stocks from the Dow Jones Industrials () that analysts seem to like the best right now. In a moment, I'll reveal five Dow stocks that have seen the biggest increases in analysts' earnings estimates over the past three months. But first, I want to make sure that you take these numbers with an appropriate grain of salt -- because analysts don't have the best track record of making smart earnings estimates. When pros get it wrongIdeally, you'd be able to count on professionals who spend their entire lives looking at the stocks they follow. But doing so can be dangerous to your wealth. Patrick Cusatis and J. Randall Woolridge of Penn State University did aThe fact that analysts don't predict well may suggest that you shouldn't look at their estimates at all. But despite their inaccuracy, earnings estimates get a lot of attention from other investors, and changes to those estimates can move stock prices substantially. When analysts feel better about a stock's future prospects, investors will follow suit -- sometimes creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of share price gains, at least unless the company's actual results down the road prove them wrong. So with that in mind, here are the five Dow stocks where analysts have ratcheted up their earnings estimates the most over the past three months.even with fears of a slowdown, upping its earnings guidance and beating estimates quarter after quarter. And even though IBM and Cisco followed much different paths in 2011 -- IBM consistently soared, while Cisco struggled early before recovering later -- any boost in the overall economy should be especially helpful for the technology sector. That leaves Pfizer as an unexpected choice here. The company cut its dividend after making a huge acquisition in 2009 and is dealing with the same patent-cliff issues that many of its pharma peers face, having lost protection on itsBefore you jump into any of these stocks, remember: Analysts are often wrong. Boosting estimates that may already be too high doesn't necessarily make these stocks a good buying opportunity. But if the reasons behind the moves are justified, then you'll definitely want to take a closer look. One thing that both analysts and investors like a lot right now are dividend stocks. The Dow has plenty of dividend payers, but to get the best of the best, you have to go beyond the Dow. Let me invite you to join the thousands who've read the Fool's new free report that revealsloves stocks that give you the returns you deserve. You can follow him on. He doesn't own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of IBM and Cisco and has created a bull call spread position on Cisco.have recommended buying shares of Pfizer, Home Depot, and Cisco. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesOne or more symbols you entered is not available.companies dropped last week, extending their worst year on record, on concern revenue will fall after a competitor signed 10,000 new customers for its cellular services.of the largest Israeli companies traded in New York. The Ministry of Communications, seeking to boost competition in the market, issued licenses to new mobile telephone and virtual operators last year at a time when hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated during the summer calling for lower prices, more affordable housing and free pre-school education. “There’s a lot of competition coming to the market,” said Jean Kaplan, an analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc in. “Bezeq may be catching up” with the cellular companies’ drop, he said. Bezeq’s decline had pushed. It is also home to the largest number of startup companies per capita in the world.where shares were trading without the right to receive a 1.90 shekel- a-share dividend payable on January 19. “This is a continuation of a negative trend in local telecommunication companies on the back of regulatory uncertainty,” said Uriel Goren, head of international clients desk at DS Securities & Investments Ltd. The New York shares of Cellcom dropped 48 percent in 2011, the most since the company listed shares in New York in 2007. Bezeq’s stock sank 35 percent in 2011, the most since its 1995 initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The TA-Com index of telecommunication companies lost 1.1 percent, while the TA-25 gained 0.1 percent today.fell 6.5 percent as its cellular-phone unit, facing growing competition, lowered rates on regulator instructions and increased its debt. “Bezeq has come out quite better than Partner and Cellcom because it has more segments than them,” HSBC’s Kaplan said., may be “a great fit” as an acquisition target after Jeremy Levin assumes his new position as chief executive officer, Selvaraju said. The shekel fell 1.1 percent versus the dollar last week to 3.8528 per dollar, extending its 7.5 percent drop in 2011, the worst annual decline since 2001. Details on 6,050 Israeli credit card holders have been posted on the Internet by a hacker identifying himself as a Saudi, Globes reported on Jan. 6, citing credit card companies. Last week, details from 15,000 Israeli credit card customers were exposed by hackers on the Internet. To contact the reporter on this story: Tal Barak Harif in New York atWhile China avoided the global recession in 2009 and is growing more than twice as fast as the world economy, the index has been the worst among the 10 biggest markets in the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank boosted rates and reserve requirements to curb property prices and inflation that reached a three-year high in July. Premier Wen Jiabao said on Jan. 3 that business conditions may be “relatively difficult” this quarter and monetary policy will be adjusted.Corporate earnings may rise 10 percent this year, Zhang said. Profit growth in the MSCI BRIC Index of the four largest emerging markets will slow to 5 percent from 19 percent last year, according to more than 12,000 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg as of Dec. 28.The Shanghai Composite fell 1.6 in the first week of trading in 2012, compared to gains of more than 2 percent for gauges in Brazil, Russia and India, the other BRIC nations.The largest advance in the Shanghai Composite last year was a 195 percent surge by Shanghai-based China Fortune Land Development Co. Irico Display Devices Co., a manufacturer of television picture tubes based in Shaanxi province, sank 66 percent, the biggest decline of 2011.Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which coined the term BRIC a decade ago, said in a Dec. 7 report that economic growth for the largest emerging nations may have peaked because of a smaller supply of new workers.China will boost domestic consumption to offset an export slowdown and allow for faster gains in the yuan to tame inflation, Mark Mobius, who helps oversee about $40 billion as executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said in an e-mail on Dec. 14.“The Chinese leadership has the organizational skills and policies capable of ensuring that China continues to achieve the highest gross domestic product growth of any major country in the world,” Mobius said. He favors consumer stocks because they will benefit most from rising Chinese incomes.UBS AG cut its prediction on Nov. 29 for growth in 2012 to 8 percent from 8.3 percent, while Citigroup Inc. reduced its forecast to 8.4 percent from 8.7 percent. Average economic growth in the BRIC nations will slow to 6.1 percent this year from a high of 9.7 percent in 2007, according to September estimates by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF estimates global production will expand 4 percent.The People’s Bank of China cut banks’ reserve-requirement ratios from a record high for the first time in three years on Nov. 30. The central bank may lower the ratios as much as four times this year to encourage lending to small companies hurt by a credit squeeze, Zhang said. He recommends shares of property developers, brokerages and chemical producers.The Chinese banks may report annual net income increases of at least 19 percent in 2012, analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.) fell 7% after the discount retailer said Thursday that earnings rose in the most recent quarter, but sales came in lower than expected.Not many people realize that the stock market is one of the best predictors of the outcome of a Presidential election. So the best way for investors to determine whether PresidentForbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.Passwords are sent to this address, so please make sure it is correct.The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.The Forbes 400 is the definitive list of wealth in America, profiling and ranking the country's richest citizens by their estimated net worths.Riding surging prices of his bank and telecom holdings, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helú has widened his lead over Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett as the wealthiest person on earth.The Forbes Global 2000 are the biggest, most powerful listed companies in the world. This year's list reflects big gains in profit and sales from a broad and deep recovery. Optimism may be back in boardrooms from Beijing to Bentonville, but now come the headwinds.Everybody knows that January predicts the stock market's direction for the year and that the best time to sell stocks is at their spring peak. And among stock market experts, it's a sure bet that the market will soar in the year before an election.Everybody knows that January predicts the stock market's direction for the year and that the best time to sell stocks is at their spring peak. And among stock market experts, it's a sure bet that the market will soar in the year before an election.But what passes for stock market wisdom is suspect when given a closer look. The most common error comes when people spot two events and assume that one causes the other.And it drives economists, math geeks and plenty of money managers nuts.The same seasonal patterns seem to pop up year after year. Some are valuable and some meaningless, Keon says -- like saying stocks tend to rise or fall depending on the month, the temperature in New York City or who wins the Super Bowl.The idea is that January works as a barometer for the stock market's full-year performance: A strong first month often leads to a year of gains, and a weak one to a year of losses.The suggestion that January somehow directs the course of the next 11 months is what irks economists and investors, including Dan Greenhaus, chief market strategist at the brokerage BTIG.The S&P 500 has climbed in three out of every four years since 1950. Pick nearly any month in which stocks rose and most of the time you'll find that the year was headed in the same direction.Like a flock of migrating birds, the stock market tends to travel south or north depending on the season. It rises through the winter months and falls late in the spring. Investors struggle through the summer until November rolls around and the market picks up again.The flow of money into retirement plans and mutual funds may have something to do with it. Colas says databases that track cash moving into stock funds show patterns similar to the stock market trend: A strong start that evaporates as the year progresses.Some tie the summer sluggishness to vacation season. Trading desks are thinly staffed in the weeks before Labor Day. Fewer traders means a drop in trading volume, which makes it easier for markets to take bigger swings, often down.Here's where that explanation falls short. Traders return to their desks after Labor Day in September and trading picks up. But for all major stock indexes, September is historically the worst month of the year. Since 1950, it's the only month in which the stock market has fallen more than it has risen.U.S. presidents serve four-year terms, and the third year is usually the best for the stock market. The pattern has been remarkably solid. The Dow Jones industrial average has made gains in every third year of a president's term since 1939, when President Franklin Roosevelt was nearing the end of his second term in office.To Keon, managing director of Prudential's Quantitative Management Associates, the problem with banking on a president's third term for a market rally is that it only considers two things, the stock market and the president, and ignores everything else.Sitting presidents want to get re-elected and may try to push spending packages to boost the economy, Keon says. He ran a study that examined the effects of interest rates, inflation and other economic activity, and the president's ability to move markets largely disappeared.Please take a minute to register. 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To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visitEuropean benchmark stock markets have started 2012 on the front foot, but analysts warn that the traditional new year's bounce could quickly dissipate as attention returns to the euro-zone debt crisis. Investors often greet January with a boost amid the flush of optimism of a new slate, but the upbeat attitude can then trail off later in the month. However, analysts are very much divided this year on how best to position themselves. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended the year's first trading week up 1.2%, but there was enough of bad economic and company news to make it an ...European benchmark stock markets have started 2012 on the front foot, but analysts warn that the traditional new year's bounce could quickly dissipate as attention returns to the euro-zone debt crisis. Investors often greet January with a boost amid the flush of optimism of a new slate, but the upbeat attitude can then trail off later in the month. However, analysts are very much divided this year on how best to position themselves. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended the year's first trading week up 1.2%, but there was enough of bad economic and company news to make it an ...The quest for a vaccine against AIDS is gaining momentum, with research published Wednesday identifying promising new candidates that protected monkeys against a powerful strain of the virus and which soon could be tested in humans.Excessive pay for bosses at struggling companies represents a market failure and shareholders will be given more powers to block bumper deals, said Prime Minister David Cameron.Real-time U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only; comprehensive U.S. stock quotes reflect trading in all markets and are delayed at least 15 minutes.