The Fool's Look Ahead

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz
September 12, 2009 | Comments (2)

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Disney Buys Marvel!

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Monday
The new trading week kicks off with Sycamore Networks (Nasdaq: SCMR) reporting. Analysts don't expect much. They see the bandwidth management expert matching last year's second-quarter loss of $0.03 a share.

Tuesday
The Zune HD -- Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) latest attempt to matter in portable media players -- hits the market. A lot of Microsoft's thunder was stolen when Apple refreshed its iPod line a few days earlier.

It's going to be hard for Mr. Softy. When even the bargain-priced iPod nano offers video recording and a built-in radio tuner, I'm not sure that the Zune's access to limited HD-Radio broadcasts will be much of a differentiator. There are other cool Zune HD features, but it looks like Apple rained on Microsoft's parade, again.

Wednesday
Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and Apogee (Nasdaq: APOG) report on this day, if Larry Ellison doesn't buy Apogee first.

Just kidding. Oracle has an insatiable appetite for acquisitions, but enterprise software and industrial glass and window installations have little in common, unless Silicon Valley executives are smashing office windows with Aeron chairs in fits of rage.

Speaking of pricey Aeron chairs, Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR) is also reporting. Office furniture is still getting pinched, as analysts see the company earning less than a third of what it did a year earlier.

Thursday
Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) reports. It should be the first time that investors get an official read on the initial success of the company's breakthrough Pre smartphone. If the numbers aren't up to snuff, new hope may come from the company's recently announced Pixi model.

Friday
It's a quiet close to the trading week, but the multiplex will be hopping. New releases include a little blood (Jennifer's Body), a little love (Love Happens), and a whole lot of raining meatballs. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is an animated feature based on the popular children's book. It also happens to be the latest flick to open for both conventional movie theaters and the larger IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX) screens.

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz

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IMAX is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation, Apple is a  Stock Advisor selection, and Microsoft is an Inside Value recommendation. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

  • Report this Comment On September 12, 2009, at 8:26 AM, RobertTKitty wrote:

    Rick, I see that are not well versed in technology, as Apple's line-up was a massive disappointment. The competitor to the Zune HD, which is the iPod Touch not the Nano, was left with almost no improvements, which caused an instaneous backlash from Apple iPod fans, who promptly went and bought Zune HD instead of the new iPod touchs. Directly after the Apple announcements, the Zune HD moved from the 6th place on Amazon to 1st. Come Sept. 15th when the Zune HD will be fully revealed, we'll see an even bigger growth as people actually get their hands on the units, and learn how fully capable they are.

  • Report this Comment On September 14, 2009, at 3:32 AM, tgauchat wrote:

    How can you talk about this trading week without mentioning that Friday is Options Expiration day?

    OpEx influences action every month -- the third Friday every month.

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11/20/2009 4:00 PM
ORCL $22.34 Down -0.05 -0.22%
Oracle Corp. CAPS Rating: ****
MSFT $29.62 Down -0.16 -0.54%
Microsoft Corp CAPS Rating: ***
PALM $11.74 Up +0.11 +0.95%
Palm, Inc. CAPS Rating: *
MLHR $15.21 Down -0.09 -0.59%
Herman Miller, Inc… CAPS Rating: ***
SCMR $2.90 Down -0.03 -1.02%
Sycamore Networks,… CAPS Rating: ****
APOG $14.04 Up +0.06 +0.43%
Apogee Enterprises… CAPS Rating: ****
IMAX $10.48 Up +0.36 +3.56%
IMAX Corp (USA) CAPS Rating: ***

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