The Fool's Look Ahead

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Monday
The new trading week kicks off on rails, when CSX (NYSE: CSX) reports its quarterly reports. If the economy begins showing signs of life, CSX may be one of the first to benefit, given its oversight of interstate shipments. But for now, analysts see the transportation titan earning $0.61 a share, well short of the $0.89 it earned a year ago.

Tuesday
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) steps up on Tuesday. This company is typically portrayed as one of the better citizens in the financial-services industry, so let's see whether it can set the appropriate tone. I wouldn't bank on it.

Wednesday
No one is expecting good news out of Gannett (NYSE: GCI) on Wednesday. The USA Today parent is struggling, but the same goes for any newspaper company these days. Is there a cure for falling circulation, fading ad rates, and consumers who rightfully view the morning paper as yesterday's news? Gannett has been scaling back, so investors can hope that there will be margin gains within the context of the carnage.

Thursday
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) should check in with good news on Thursday. After all, it's one of the few online companies that are still growing. Wall Street is targeting a profit of $5.05 per share out of Big G, just ahead of the $4.63 a share it rang up a year ago. It will be catastrophic if Google misses, but it will be wonderfully reassuming if the company meets or exceeds expectations. I bet one of the first three analysts during the conference call will ask it about the Google Chrome operating system.

Friday
Fridays are typically snoozers, but I've been circling this date for a while now. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and General Electric (NYSE: GE) will all be reporting their quarterly results on Friday. All three bellwethers are trading well above their recent lows, yet B of A and GE are projected to post weaker results than they did a year ago, while analysts expect Citigroup to post a narrower loss. Don't punch out for the weekend until you fully digest what each of these three market movers has to say. 

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz