Monday
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) kicks off the new trading week with its fourth-quarter results. Analysts see the aluminum giant posting a profit of $0.06 a share for the period, reversing a bigger loss from a year earlier.

Tuesday
We'll grab one more peek into the housing market when homebuilder KB Home (NYSE:KBH) steps up. Most developers have come through with narrower deficits, and that's just what Mr. Market sees in KB Home's numbers. It may take several more quarters -- if not years -- for real estate developers to return to profitability, but at least they're moving in the right direction.

Wednesday
Box-spring and mattress maker Sealy (NYSE:ZZ) reawakens for its quarterly report. Wall Street expects Sealy to post a marginal profit, but that should be better than the small deficit it rang up last year.

Thursday
It's Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) turn. Fresh from its appearance at this week's Consumer Electronics Show -- and amid rumors that its chips won't be fueling Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) tablet computer -- the microprocessor titan is targeted to post a substantially improved quarterly profit.

Friday
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) will close out the second trading week of 2010. The megabank is one of the few financial bellwethers to remain profitable during the banking meltdown, and it's unlikely to sink into the red on Friday.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz