Last week's preview raised the question of whether consumers were turning to comfort foods in these uncertain times, specifically in terms of second quarter earnings of Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) and Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD). Campbell's strong earnings growth topped expectations, while Krispy Kreme narrowed its loss, though it fell short of estimates.

This coming week should bring reports from more food-related companies, from cereal maker General Mills and food packager CongAgra to grocery chain Kroger, to the parent companies of restaurants Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Carl's Jr., and Hardees. Also look for reports from tech-related companies such as Oracle, Adobe, and Palm, as well as from financials Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, and from economic bellwether FedEx.

Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting from some of the companies reporting earnings this week, as compared to their results from the same period of last year:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Double Hull Tankers, Comverge and Cardica were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Double Hull Tankers (NYSE: DHT) was initiated with a Buy rating and $20 target at Jefferies, as they believe shares are attractively valued given the company's time charter contract coverage and upside potential through profit sharing arrangement.
• Broadpoint views Comverge (NASDAQ: COMV) as the industry leader in the high-growth demand response market. The firm assumed coverage with a Buy rating.
• Oppenheimer expects Cardica's (NASDAQ: CRDC) proximal device, which is awaiting FDA approval, to change cardiothoracic surgery and that adoption should be rapid. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $11 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Bear Stearns started Brady Corp (NYSE: BRC) with a Neutral rating and $40 target.
• Bill Barrett (NYSE: BBG) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and Morgan Keegan.
• William Blair initiated LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQX) with a Market Perform rating.

Monday September 10

• Illinois District Court: Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) Vioxx trial to start.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) to webcast the launch of the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor.

Tuesday September 11

• Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke to speak at Bundesbank Conference in Berlin.
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (NYSE: LGF) to hold shareholder meeting at 10am.

Wednesday September 12

• Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10am.
• Select Comfort Corporation (NASDAQ: SCSS) to hold Q3 Business Update conference call at 4pm.

Thursday September 13

• Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) to hold shareholder meeting at 11:30am.

Friday September 14

• W.W. Grainger Inc (NYSE: GWW) to hold August sales conference call at 8am.
• Isle of Capri Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ISLE) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Interlink Electronics Inc (OTC: LINK) to hold a conference call to discuss asset sale at 1pm.

Enterprise security and health and safety issues are bigger than ever and that pertains even to such prosaic items as wall signs, ID badges and warning labels. A leading provider of such goods is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) provides products that identify and protect premises, products and people. Offerings include high-performance labels and signs, badges, printing systems and software, label-application and data-collection systems, safety devices, lockout/tagout products and precision die-cut components. The firm also manufactures specialty tapes and related products that are characterized by high-performance adhesives. Clients include Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG), Honeywell International (NYSE: HON), Marriott International (NYSE: MAR), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Today's more noteworthy upgrades include Verizon Communications Inc (VZ), Priceline.com Inc (PCLN) Intel Corp (INTC), NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Top Tankers Inc (TOPT):

• Citigroup upgraded Verizon Commuications (NYSE: VZ) to Buy from Sell and raised their target to $48 from $33 as the firm believes earnings-per-share growth will override cap ex concern.

• Citigroup also upgraded shares of Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) to Buy from Hold on valuation as the firm believes the company's growth prospects are underestimated in the stock following the recent sell-off.

• Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch citing the company's robust product road map and its ability to compete against Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

• JP Morgan upgraded NYXE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Neutral from Underweight and believes the risks that attributed NYX's downgrade in February have played out and sees limited downside at these levels.

• Cantor upgraded Top Tankers (NASDAQ: TOPT) to Hold from Sell following better-than-expected Q1 results...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• UBS upgraded shares of CACI International Inc (NYSE: CAI) to Buy from Neutral.

• Leerink Swann raised United Therapeutics Corp (NASDAQ: UTHR) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Calyon upgraded Nabors Industries Ltd (NYSE: NBR) to Add from Neutral.

• Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE: MUR) was raised to Hold from Sell at Benchmark.

• Banc of America upgraded shares of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc (NYSE: SKT) to Buy from Neutral.

• Baird upgraded Brady Corp (NYSE: BRC) to Outperform from Neutral.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CV Therapeutics, Inc (CVTX) and Stone Energy Corp (SGY) topped today's modest-sized list of downgrades:

• Citigroup cut CV Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CVTX) to Sell from Hold with a $6 target due to the diminished market potential for Ranexa and its high operating expenses. First Albany downgraded shares to Neutral from Strong Sell to reflect the lack of catalysts.

• Matrix USA cut Stone Energy Corp (NYSE: SGY) to Strong Sell from Hold, believing significant cost increases are driving negative fundamental trends.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Telecom AG (NYSE: DT) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns as the firm believes evidence of a turnaround needs to be seen before shares move higher.

• Thomas Weisel cut Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) to Market Weight from Overweight to reflect lower confidence in management's ability to deploy capital effectively.

• Overseas Shipholding Group Inc (NYSE: OSG) was downgraded to Hold from Strong Buy at Matrix USA.

• American Technology downgraded Sigma Designs, Inc (NASDAQ: SIGM) to Neutral from Buy with a $28 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Embarq Corp (EQ) and Boston Scientific Corp (BSX) were today's most notable downgrades:

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Embarq Corp (NYSE: EQ) to Sell from Neutral based on valuation and potential margin dilution.

• Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns based on regulatory and competitive challenges.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Despite expectations of strong Q4 results and 2007 guidance, Needham downgraded Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ: GRMN) to Hold from Buy based on valuation, as they believe the multiple the market is willing to give the stock is likely to decline as PNDs continue to increase as a percentage of revenue.

• Roth Capital downgraded China BAK Battery Inc (NASDAQ: CBAK) to Hold from Buy.

• DA Davidson downgraded Weyerhaeuser Co (NYSE: WY) to Neutral from Buy.

• BMO Capital Markets downgraded Brady Corp (NYSE: BRC) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Wachovia downgraded Boyd Gaming Corp (NYSE: BYD) to Market Perform from Outperform, expecting weakness in 2007 from the Las Vegas locals market and Atlantic City.

• Penn National Gaming Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank citing valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).