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Investors may be most thankful that this is a quick week. The market is closed for Thanksgiving and will log just a half-day on Black Friday, but from today through Wednesday, traders will face a heavy slate of economic data and earnings news.

Among quarterly results scheduled for this holiday-shortened week, investors may be thankful for earnings results from Tyson Foods, the Arkansas-based poultry and meat producer. Analog Devices and Deere also are reporting.

When IBM raised its buyback authorization by $10 billion on Oct. 26, it was the 259th company to announce repurchase plans in October alone. Citi Investment Research says a long-term trend of rising buybacks has only just begun.

The farm- and construction-equipment maker shattered expectations, earning 57 cents per share, vs. estimates of 19 cents, largely through rigorous cost-containment and lower raw material costs. It also raised revenue guidance for 2010.

Deere & Co. will give investors another clue about the economic recovery when it reports quarterly earnings results Wednesday. Deere's sales numbers and its 2010 outlook will say much about the global economy's health.

One of the world's leading economic advisory organizations is urging governments to avoid protectionism as they grapple with the global recession. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), advisor to 27 high-income countries, announced Tuesday it now expects global trade to...