Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) kicks off another earnings season this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for another net loss for the third quarter. Can we take that as a sign of things to come, or as a bellwether for the economy? Well, barring a big downside surprise, this will be the third narrower quarterly loss for Alcoa. But while Alcoa beat estimates in July, it missed them in April. Alcoa's shares, on the other hand, are up 145.6% since the March low, which is well more than twice as much either the Dow or the S&P 500.

During its third quarter, New York-based Alcoa continued restructuring efforts, remained a part of the DJIA Sustainability Index, and declared a quarterly dividend. It is expected to report a net loss of $0.12 per share for the three months that ended in September. That compares to a profit of $0.37 in the same period of last year. Third-quarter revenue is forecast to have fallen 38.3% to $4.5 billion. Analysts so far expect to see a profit in the fourth quarter, but not for the full year. Alcoa has missed earnings expectations in three of the past four quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 20.0%, again much better than the S&P 500. The First Call consensus recommendation is to hold AA; CNBC concurs that now is not the time to buy. At $12.82, shares are 30.0% higher than three months ago, but 33.4% lower than a year ago.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) operates a chain of discount retail stores. As one of the great "dollar stores," it often leads the retail group.

The chart is loaded with bullish technical signals, including a gold cross, a new buy signal from the stochastic, and a build up of buying volume.

If you're looking for the most accurate way to predict the direction a stock or the market is headed, technical analysis is it.

Of course, no chart pattern is accurate all of the time (which is why technical analysis is more of an art than a science), but it's the closest you're going to get to a sure thing in the stock market.

So I'm offering up six technical trades today. Each of these stocks' charts are giving off extremely bullish signals and look ready to run higher.

Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) competed on Tuesday in a contest that no company really wants to play: the Expectations Game. Things turned out pretty well for the famous seller of sports stuff (being that I'm no athlete, I can't say I've purchased anything from the place). For the fourth quarter, Dick's posted adjusted income of 55 cents per diluted share. Analysts surveyed by Reuters believed that the chain might do 53 cents per share.

Very cool. In fact, Dick's stock closed yesterday at $12.84. The shares gained over 17% on excellent volume. So, one might expect that the earnings were great and that the stock is a buy. Not so fast.

Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO) operates a chain of more the 6,500 U.S. retail discount stores, offering consumables, home products, apparel, electronic items and seasonal goods. The firm specializes in neighborhood outlets, located near its low- and middle-income customers in rural and urban areas. Most items are priced under $10. Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) are major competitors.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 46 cents and revenues of $1.7 billion. Analysts had been looking for 40 cents and $1.7 billion. The CEO attributed success to the company's "intense focus on controlling expenses and mitigating inventory risk." Management also guided Q4 EPS to 30-35 cents (29 cent consensus).

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO), along with the other dollar stores, may begin to see many more non-traditional customers who are aching to save every penny in the face of increasing energy and food costs. The first strike at that concept was from Family Dollar, which reported a 7.1% increase in net income for its latest quarter.

While sales grew at Family Dollar, stores that target affluent or higher-income shoppers saw flat or negative growth. This all points to one thing: customers are seeking out bargains wherever they can to offset rising prices in other areas of their lives. This sounds like it should have happened last summer as the credit freeze was beginning, but with summer in full swing and gas prices at $4 a gallon levels, the reality of the dollar store is setting in for millions of Americans.

With the typical Family Dollar customer being the "mom who makes less than $30,000 per year," it's not hard to imagine all the dollar-type retailers starting to see increasing fortunes in the near future. Every worker in the U.S. who drives has easily seen their last performance increase fade away. In fact, many have actually experienced a large financial demotion due to high gas prices and food costs. It's hard to think of it that way for many, but that is what it is. Inflation and energy costs can wipe out that raise pretty fast, yes? With that in mind, you may want to venture into a dollar store soon. Most likely, you'll be pleased with the price levels you find on almost every product.

Shares of retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) have been taking a hit in early trading as the company slashed its full-year earnings outlook amid tumbling market conditions.The retailer was able to post better-than-expected earnings numbers but this was not enough to reassure investors who pushed the stock down over 1%.

Family Dollar Stores announced that its second quarter profit had dropped 30% to $63.3 million, down from $90.5 million reported in the same period a year ago when the company benefited from an extra week of holiday sales. The retailer posted quarterly earnings of 45 cents a share, slightly higher the 42 cents a share that analysts expected.

The company posted a drop of 6% in its second-quarter revenue to $1.83 billion, down from $1.95 billion a year earlier. Analysts forecast revenue of $1.84 billion in the quarter, according to Thomson Financial. The drop in revenue came as the retailer had to face a difficult consumer environment brought by the U.S. housing market slowdown, high gas prices and credit crisis.