The Fool Looks Ahead

Monday
Were you good or naughty this year? The question is rhetorical. All you need to know is that the market is closed in observance of Christmas on Monday. Sleep in. Go see some relatives. Stay far, far away from CNBC.

Tuesday
If it's the day after Christmas, it probably means that the longest retailer lines aren't at the cash register, but at customer service processing returns and exchanges instead. Yes, it's a hassle, even though retailers often make the most of it by offering up huge sales to make the most of the unusually high foot traffic. Even in the virtual world, this is usually the time of year when Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY  ) will treat customers to a free -- or lately, steeply discounted -- listing. For a dime a listing, it may be a good time to clear out some of the stuff that you just don't have room for anymore.

Wednesday
Earnings are hard to come by during the last few days of the year. If you're really hungry for a report, you could have tuned in to what Delta & PineLand (NYSE: DLP  ) had to say. However, with the cottonseed specialist's shareholders accepting the buyout offer from Monsanto (NYSE: MON  ) a few days ago, even that rare joy will be a lingering eggnog-smacked memory.

Thursday
On Thursday, Learning Tree (Nasdaq: LTRE  ) breaks through the silence. Analysts expect the corporate educator to earn $0.03 a share for its fiscal fourth quarter. It may not seem like much but it will be an improvement over the breakeven results the company posted a year earlier.

Friday
Friday will be the last trading day of the year so you may as well brush up on terms like "window dressing" and "tax loss selling" that often drive an otherwise sleepy trading day.

Through window dressing, spineless money managers snap up hot performing stocks to give the illusion that they didn't miss out on big winners when it comes time to mail out their year-end holdings. Tax loss selling takes place when investors unload some of their biggest losers to help offset capital gains elsewhere. Yes, even as the year comes to a close the rich stocks get richer while the poor ones get poorer.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look forward. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.