Monday
How does kefir sound as a way to kick off the new trading week? Kefir is a Russian dairy beverage -- a kissing cousin to drinkable yogurt -- and it's the specialty of Lifeway (Nasdaq: LWAY). The profitable food company has been trying to expand its product lines and on Monday should shed some light on how that is coming along.

Tuesday
Happy April Fool's Day. The earnings slate is pretty dry, though you may want to check on Russ Berrie's (NYSE: RUS) quarterly report. It's child's play, after all, given the company's Sassy line of baby-care products and Kids Line division of infant bedding and nursery items. Analysts expect earnings to clock in at $0.19 a share, three times as high as what Russ Berrie generated a year ago.

Wednesday
A lot of bellwethers, including electronics superstore chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and agriculture giant Monsanto (NYSE: MON), check in. The most interesting report may be the one out of Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM). The market is looking for another monster report out of the BlackBerry maker, but given recent improvements from rivals in the smartphone space, Research In Motion may be busy assessing its future instead.

Thursday
Hooker Furniture (Nasdaq: HOFT) will give us a snapshot of the iffy residential-furniture market. The former Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation is trying to bounce back. It has topped market expectations in each of the past two quarters.

Friday
We close out the week with Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) reporting. The thrift-store chain should hold up relatively well in this economic environment, as more consumers pinch their pennies, but Wall Street is looking for sales and earnings to have dropped during its quarter that included the holiday season.  

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz