Lukewarm third-quarter earnings reports to date imply that corporate America has some thorny problems. For the stock market to get back on track, this week's releases will have to offer Wall Street some more upbeat news.

Last week's batch of earnings reports, along with some downgrades from Standard & Poor's on mortgage-backed securities, indicated credit tightness lasted well after summer ended. That suggests the fourth-quarter comeback Wall Street bet on when it hit record highs earlier this month may not happen.

It wasn't only banks and housing-related companies that revealed troubles last week. Big Dow components including 3M Co., Honeywell Inc., and Caterpillar Inc. posted third-quarter profit rises, but their outlooks were much dimmer..............

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