The Fool's Look Ahead

Monday
The new trading week begins with Baidu.com (NYSE:BIDU) reporting. China's leading search engine is expected to post a profit of $0.76 a share for its first quarter, 27% ahead of last year's showing. Has it gained market share? Is it doing its part to avoid music piracy allegations? Is China's economy bouncing back? We'll see how many questions are answered on Monday.

Tuesday
It's teething-pain time for the E*Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) baby. The discount broker is announcing its quarterly results. Analysts see a wider deficit at the company, unlike the smaller profits posted at rival discounters earlier this month. The key metrics to watch here are net new assets and the number of active accounts. If E*Trade is growing on both of those fronts -- as its rivals are -- the deficit will be easier to swallow.

Wednesday
Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) step up on Wednesday. Wall Street is braced for diminishing profitability at both companies. Investors will probably want to tune in to see how things go in Time Warner's plan to completely spin off Time Warner Cable to its shareholders. 

Thursday
Cable giant Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) broadcasts its financials on Thursday morning. These may be challenging times for consumer-facing subscription services, but the company is expected to post improved profitability for the period.

Friday
There is no such thing as a sleepy Friday during earnings season. The final trading day of the week will feature quarterly reports out of MasterCard (NYSE:MA) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX). Remind me to swipe the plastic the next time I'm at the pump.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz