Nokia

There's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially when earnings season is just about to get under way. Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead.

It has been 63 years since Frank McNamara invented the credit card, and those little pieces of plastic are everywhere. But now, a groundbreaking new technology could upend the industry he created.

You know things are going from bad to worse for BlackBerry farmer Research In Motion when some of the stodgiest companies on the planet start trading in their BlackBerry smartphones for shiny new iPhones. The most recent defector from RIM: Halliburton, the fuddy-duddy oil-field services giant that critics associate with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, Dick Cheney, and no-bid contracts in Iraq.

On the 2012 Interbrand list of the world's most valuable brands, the top seven are the same as in 2011, with Coca-Cola leading the way. Then we get to No. 8. That spot used to be held by wireless phone giant Nokia, but Apple has knocked it down -- way down.

If you think 2011 was a wild year for technology, just wait until you see what 2012 has in store for you. Here are three tech trends that will undoubtedly grow in relevance -- and investor profitability -- in the year ahead.

It has been a horrible year for Research In Motion, and things may not be getting any better for the BlackBerry maker come 2012. Despite all of the buyout speculation, RIM's stock has been a disaster. In fact, it's a foregone conclusion that RIM is toast.

Major tech companies including Amazon, Microsoft and Nokia have been eyeing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, according to recent reports. True, we shouldn't jump to any conclusions based on the words of "unnamed sources." But all of the attention RIM's getting does make sense.