The Fool's Look Ahead

Monday
The new trading week kicks off with Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) reporting its quarterly reports. Analysts see the medical products specialist earning $0.13 a share, flat with last year's showing. Will the potential revamping of the country's health-care system impact Boston Scientific? There's always a chance that the company will shed some light on the different scenarios.

Tuesday
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) report on Tuesday. If you want to make some easy money with your stock-savvy friends, ask them to pick the company that is projected to post stronger earnings than it did a year earlier. The answer, surprisingly enough, is Starbucks. Wall Street expects a profit of $0.19 a share out of the java giant. It earned $0.16 a share during the same quarter a year ago. Apple's profitability is expected to fall slightly, from $1.19 a share to $1.16 a share.

Wednesday
Online discount brokers are experiencing an uptick in trading activity these days. Unfortunately, it's not going to be enough to save E*Trade (Nasdaq: ETFC) from posting a wider deficit on Wednesday. The discounter has been going through some painfully dilutive -- but brutally necessary -- measures to beef up its balance sheet.

Thursday
Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) are two of the tech bellwethers reporting on Thursday. Don't let the buzz behind the Kindle and Bing fool you, though. Both companies should post lower net income than they did a year earlier.

Friday
If home improvement projects beckon over the summer weekend, take Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) with you. The tools specialist closes out a busy week with its second-quarter earnings report.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz