The Fool's Look Ahead

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Monday
The new trading week kicks off with Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS). The technology-licensing specialist has a funny way of giving the markets fits. Lumpy financials make it hard for the Wall Street pros to get a handle on the company, though shareholders are stinging since the company has missed analyst targets in each of the past seven quarters. Rambus has proved that it can grow wings from time to time, so anything is possible with Monday afternoon's report. Just approach it cautiously, given the company's recent streak as a heartbreaker.

Tuesday
The CNET (Nasdaq: CNET) boardroom may be heating up, with pressure from a consortium of active institutional investors that command more than 20% of the company's voting power, but what's up with CNET's financial state? We'll know more when the company posts its quarterly results.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) also checks in. The family-entertainment giant has beaten analyst estimates every quarter since Bob Iger took over as CEO. Even with the challenges of the Writers Guild strike and weakness in the economy, one should expect a little more pixie dust in the tank at Disney. Wall Street is looking for a profit of $0.52 a share.

Wednesday
Don't expect any delays in getting to Akamai's (Nasdaq: AKAM) fourth-quarter report. When you're the leading content delivery network, sending out data quickly and securely is just what you're born to do. Even with recent pricing challenges in what has become a cutthroat industry, analysts expect earnings to clock in 37% higher at Akamai. We'll see how it goes.

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) also reports. Tune in if only to play a little drinking game that I like to call "take a sip whenever an analyst asks about a potential spinoff of AOL."

Thursday
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) pops in. The soda and salty-snack giant is typically regarded as one of the more recession-resistant companies out there, since soft drinks and Doritos are economical luxuries. The market is looking for profitability to improve by 8% to $0.80 a share. PepsiCo should do just fine.

Friday
The trading week ends with Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) reporting. The paper manufacturer is expected to post a dip in its quarterly profitability. You know what they say about paper cuts -- they don't seem to hurt a lot at first, but the sting lingers.  

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz