Monday
The market will gradually get back into form after the holiday weekend. The exchanges will be open on Monday. They took Friday off. However, stateside companies will not be as wide-eyed. According to my sources, there isn't a single major publicly traded company scheduled to post its quarterly results on Monday. Wait for tomorrow.

Tuesday
Specialty plastics maker A. Schulman (NASDAQ:SHLM) announces earnings on Tuesday. The company expects to see its profits bend but not quite break, falling to $0.09 per share from last year's $0.42 figure.

Wednesday
Speaking of "wait for tomorrow": Do you remember the company behind the "we can't wait for tomorrow" advertising jingle? It's Alcoa (NYSE:AA), and the aluminum giant is projected to post a sharp loss on Wednesday. Maybe it can wait until tomorrow.

Also, Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO), and Nu Horizons (NASDAQ:NUHC) will step up to the earnings stage on Wednesday. Family Dollar is expected to post bottom-line growth, earning $0.59 a share after ringing up a profit of just $0.46 a share last year. Nu Horizons isn't expected to be so lucky.

Thursday
Value Line (NASDAQ:VALU) reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday. The independent research giant for stocks, funds, and options has some explaining to do. It boosted its quarterly dividend by $0.10 a share last year, and recently reversed the move. It's not the only company hacking away at its yield, though one would expect a research specialist to have a clearer crystal ball. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation earned $0.48 a share during the same quarter a year ago. Let's see on which side of the growth bar it turns up this time around.

Lawson Software (NASDAQ:LWSN) is also checking in with Mr. Market on Thursday. Wall Street's pros think the enterprise software provider will clock in flat with the $0.10 a share it earned a year ago.

Friday
Oh, if only Progressive (NYSE:PGR) shareholders could be as bubbly and upbeat as Flo, the perky yet quirky star of the auto insurer's television commercials. Friday's report out of Progressive is shaping up to be more of the ho-hum variety. Analysts see the company earning $0.36 a share, exactly what it earned a year ago.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz