The Fool's Look Ahead

Monday
The first complete trading week of 2008 begins with Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN  ) reporting its second-quarter results. Analysts expect earnings for the enterprise software developer to more than double to $0.08 a share. The goal may seem lofty, but the trend is Lawson's friend: The company has beaten market expectations in each of the past three quarters.

Tuesday
Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL  ) , the Web-based company behind the University of Phoenix, is projected to post an 11% increase in quarterly profitability. Earning more than the $0.73 a share that Wall Street is banking on would send Apollo to the head of the class, especially because it has lapped expectations just once in the three previous quarters.

Wednesday
I ate at a recently remodeled Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT  ) last week. I could barely recognize the place, given the stylish makeover. Either way, I guess there's a good reason for the interior design and menu tweaks. The market is braced for an uncharacteristic loss from the casual dining chain for the quarter.

Thursday
Shuffle Master (Nasdaq: SHFL  ) is trying to play its way out of the crummy hand it dealt itself. The pros see Shuffle Master, a maker of automatic card shufflers and other casino equipment, earning $0.10 a share for the fourth quarter on Thursday, but that is roughly half what it earned a year ago.

Friday
We close out the week with Shaw Communications (NYSE: SJR  ) reporting. The Canadian provider of several consumer communication services is pegged to post a 26% drop in quarterly profits, earning $0.25 a share. The company launched The Christmas Tree Channel heading into last month's holidays. Now let's see if it has enough left over to fill the stockings.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz