Visa earnings

Increased use of debit and credit cards throughout the world pushed Visa Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit up 14 percent. But its quarterly revenue came in shy of Wall Street expectations, in part because because the company has been cutting deals with merchants to hold onto or attract business as it tries to cope with new regulations.

There's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially when new tablets and old banks are in the way. Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week ahead once Monday rolls around.

In a sign that consumer spending may be on the rebound, Visa on Wednesday reported its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 51% from a year ago. But shares fell after the company released disappointing guidance for the next year.

Dozens of companies report earnings this week, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating lots of strong quarterly reports. Among those posting improved results should be Microsoft and Visa. However, likely to post losses are Office Depot and Sprint Nextel.

An increase in consumer spending helped boost Visa's third quarter earnings. The credit-card processor Wednesday reported net income of $716 million or 97 cents a share, with revenues of $2 billion.