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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) reports Q3 earnings results Tuesday, hence I'll await those results before re-evaluating the stock, but today we'll take a moment to highlight a high-profile addition to its fleet: the Oasis of the Seas -- the world's largest oceanliner.

Five times larger than the SS Titanic -- 225,282 gross tons and 1,181 feet in length versus Titanic's 46,328 gross tons and 830 feet in length -- the $1.5 billion Oasis will perhaps represent the world's largest and elaborate floating city, in terms of creature comforts (U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers can carry more people, but no, the U.S. Navy does not offer as lavish accommodations nor as much per-person space for military personnel).

We've had wet weather in the Midwest during the harvest season, resulting in higher grain prices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a report on wholesale crop prices paid to farmers. Let's look at some prices:

• Corn rose 29 cents per bushel to $3.54
• Wheat jumped 8 cents per bushel to $4.56
• Soybeans dropped 1 cent per bushel to $9.74
• Wholesale milk prices jumped 7.1% in October to $1.19 per gallon. Milk prices, however are down 22% from last year.

Halloween, though not the blockbuster holiday that Christmas is, still results in some additional spending on the part of consumers as they stock up on candy and costumes, and maybe take in a scary movie or two. With those treats in mind here are some stocks that may give investors sweet dreams -- and hopefully not nightmares.

As is well known, candy is all the rage at Halloween, and among the largest candy stocks are Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) and Cadbury PLC (NYSE: CBY). Last week, Hershey reported third-quarter earnings rose 30% despite weaker volumes affected by higher prices for its sweets. Last year's numbers also included special charges. Still the company said it expects full-year earnings to be ahead of Wall Street forecasts. In 2010, the Pennsylvania company said it expects earnings excluding items to rise 6% to 8%. The stock has a forward-looking price-to-earnings ratio of 16 and a current dividend yield of 3.1%.

Although Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has much of the business world wrapped around at least some of its software, the largest software company in the world is mostly known for its consumer products. Names like Windows, Zune, Windows Mobile, Sidekick, and Xbox are household terms (well, in gadget households perhaps).

Still, with all those names, why hasn't Microsoft formed some kind of overall consumer ecosystem so that all these products fit, work, and play together seamlessly?

As with the consumers to whom it sells, Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has weathered tough times in recent months. The Cincinnati company saw revenues fall and volumes squeezed (not unlike its trademark Charmin bath tissue) as recession-weary shoppers continued to rein-in expenses and begged off buying pricier goods.

Still, following a year in which the company faced one of the most difficult macroeconomic environments in decades, P&G surprised analysts Thursday by reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings of $3.31 billion, or $1.06 a share, compared with $3.35 billion, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Zacks.com anticipated the company would earn just 97 cents a share.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is realizing that many of its customers are still living on hard times these days, even the news that the economy is rebounding. That doesn't mean lost jobs will pop back any time soon, and as such, the wholesale retailer will be accepting food stamps at all of its U.S. locations.

It was still a good idea for News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) to buy MySpace.com over fours years ago for a little more than half a billion. The social media network still brings in decent ad revenues, even though it is out of the popular fad culture of social media. That space is now owned by Facebook and Twitter. But then MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta says that his company is "fundamentally different" than Facebook -- as in a special experience providing entertainment content -- those words could come back to haunt him.

As will words like "I really don't view Facebook as a competitor." While it's true that Facebook and MySpace go after two types of online social interaction, they are both vying for many of the same customers in a large crossover audience. Teens, 20-somethings, and others are very fickle and many use both social networks. The two may have different goals, but they are competitors.

Toys R Us bought FAO Schwarz in May and is now ready to do something interesting with it.

It's a pretty bold move for a tough retail market. Toys R Us is opening FAO Schwarz boutiques in some of its stores. It's also relaunching the upscale toy seller's website, FAO.com. A year ago, this would have been suicide, but now, it might work out. With retailers in every sector fighting for an edge, this move may beef up the Toys R Us in-store experience, with the online play helping it reach higher-spending consumers that may not have access to an FAO brick-and-mortar spot.

Traditional retailers haven't exactly embraced online sales channels. Sure, they all have websites, and they sell varying amounts of merchandise through them, but they've been slow to tap into the potential. When I was watching the space as an analyst at a major consulting firm (admittedly, back in 2007), many retailers equated a website to a new store opening. Finally, however, this industry is starting to see the potential of this venue, particularly when it comes to tracking consumer behavior.

When the CEO of Macy's (NYSE: M), Terry Lundgren, says that online sales are only good for 6% of last year's total sales, it's a hint. The translation: "We focus on where the revenue is" is much different from "We focus on where the revenue could be." Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), on the other hand, sees the upside of playing in the online space, which is where it saw revenues spike 85% last year. Aeropostale has seen increases in traditional venues too, but nothing like what it's realized on the web.

So, maybe there's something to this internet, after all.

You got to hand it to Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX). At a time when movie rental houses -- chief among them, rival Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) -- are struggling to keep their doors open, Netflix is prospering, rolling out new initiatives and finding new ways for video-hungry consumers to watch movies.

On Thursday, co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings told investors on a conference call that the company will soon partner with another consumer-electronics maker to make streaming video available on more devices. That's on top of deals Netflix has already struck with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its Xbox, which expires next month, and Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY), with its line of Insignia brand Blu-Ray disc players.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that housing starts rose a bit in September, helped by a rise in single-family home construction, but this bit of good news came with some bad news that applications for new home construction were down in the month.

According to the report, construction of new homes and apartments rose by 0.5% in the month, to an annualized rate of 590,000 units. While any growth for housing starts comes as good news in the current market, it is not as good as it appears at first glance, considering that analysts had been expecting to see the annualized rate increase to 610,000 units.

Soft drink giant The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) will be reporting its third quarter numbers tomorrow before the market opens.

The last time that Coca-Cola reported earnings was back in July when the company beat out analyst estimates by 3 pennies with a reported 92 cents per share. For the third quarter, analysts are expecting to the see the company show earnings of 81 cents per share.

Investors may be bemoaning Harley-Davidson Inc.'s (NYSE: HOG) less-than-rocking earnings report this week, but there are reasons to still cheer the venerable motorcycle maker, whose stock is up 65 percent this year despite lower sales and tumbling profits. Shares rose more than 1 percent in Friday afternoon trading to more than $28 each.

On Thursday, Harley-Davidson said it earned $26.5 million, or 11 cents a share, in the third quarter, down from $166.5 million, or 71 cents a share, a year ago. Third-quarter sales dropped 21 percent to $1.12 billion, but a 21.3 percent drop in worldwide retail deliveries was far better than in the previous quarter, when sales slipped 30 percent worldwide and 35 percent in the U.S.

The Labor Department reported a modest increase in consumer prices in September. The increase in the consumer price index was .2% but it was 1.3% lower than last year.

Core CPI also rose .2% The core index excludes food and energy.

There were price increases in used cars and trucks, apparel and medical care. Energy prices climbed .8% in September.

Good news! President Obama is calling for a $250 payment to seniors.

This news comes on the eve of an announcement by the Social Security Administration stating that there will be no "cost of living" this year. By law, increases in Social Security payments are tied to the cost of living, or COLA. Since there is no inflation this year, there will be no increase in Social Security benefits. This would be the first year since 1975 with no increase.