The global business elite will begin gathering for the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday—and they'll have plenty to talk about this year when they do.

For starters: the falling dollar, the skyrocketing price of gold, rising energy costs, the global credit crunch, and volatile equity markets in the United States and Europe. Business titans will grapple with all these questions and more, as they struggle to sort out just what the global economy has in store in 2008.

Earnings season will be in full swing on Tuesday and the highlight will be Apple. The company is expected to report first-quarter earnings of $1.61 per share on strong sales of iPods and other devices.

Microsoft reports on Thursday, and is expected to have also done fairly well, with 46 cents per share in earnings for the fourth quarter.

AT&T reports fourth-quarter results Thursday, and is thought to have made 71 cents per share on profits from steady iPhone sales.

Motorola, which has been lagging behind Nokia in cell-phone sales, is forecast to announce on Wednesday a less robust 13 cents in earnings in the fourth quarter.

Two banks report on Tuesday. Bank of America and Wachovia are both expected to post small fourth-quarter profits.

Both Delta and Southwest Airlines report on Wednesday and are seen as losing 18 cents and 10 cents, respectively. US Airways is forecast to have lost 76 cents when it reports on Thursday.

The economic calendar will be quiet this week, save for December's report on sales of existing homes on Thursday, which are expected to have dropped to 4.95 million from 5 million in the month of November.