Monday, February 25

• Retailers Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) to report Q4 earnings. Lowe's will hold its conference call at 9:00am, Nordstrom will hold its conference call at 4:30pm.

Tuesday, February 26

• Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.
• FCC to hold Open Commission Meeting at 9:30am.
• Macy's to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11:00am.

Wednesday, February 27

• FDA to hold Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting at 8:00am.
• BP plc (NYSE:BP) to hold business update at 9:00am.
• Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 2:00pm.

Thursday, February 28

• XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 1:00pm.
• Novellus Systems (NASDAQ:NVLS) to give mid-quarter update at 5:30pm.

Friday, February 29

• Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) to give business update at 9:30am.
• Vale (NYSE:RIO) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• PDUFA Date for Jazz Pharma (NASDAQ:JAZZ) and Solvay Pharma's (SVYSY) Luvox CR for treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Seaosnal Affective Disorder.

On the new personal finance site we're about to launch, I'm contemplating doing a series called "Why Would Anyone Buy That" as a special weekly place to highlight all those consumer products that people buy and I don't understand why.

A soundtrack to The Weather Channel would seem like a pretty good place to start. Weather Channel Presents: Best of Smooth Jazz, released in October, seems like a sure candidate for the discount rack. But, actually, the eight Amazon.com customers who have reviewed it have generally been kind, giving it an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

According to the Associated Press, "The songs are among the channel's most requested selections and play during the forecast fixture 'Local on the 8s' that airs six times an hour. It's the cue that draws you to the TV set when you want to find out if you should take along that jacket when you leave home."

I can't imagine buying a CD with "The Weather Channel" in the title: It seems like an invitation to mockery: Possibly even lower than Kenny G and Michael Bolton. But regardless of what I think, you have to hand it to The Weather Channel's marketing people. Who ever would have thought that a station that provides 24-hour coverage of the weather, hardly a scintillating topic to most people, would build a strong enough brand that it can be used to sell CDs.

I can think of a few companies that are struggling to capitalize on their brands that could use some of The Weather Channel's marketing savvy.

Pharmaceutical companies are always risky propositions. So much depends on drugs in the pipeline, FDA approvals, patents in effect, and things going well when the medicines are prescribed to the public at large. But they can also be profitable when you've invested at the right time, right place. I think it is the right time, right place when it comes to Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ). Jazz has figured out a model that is a bit less risky. Rather than trying to find the next big drug for something that other drug companies are also seeking cures for (think Alzheimer's or breast cancer), it focuses on those neurological and psychological needs that may be less high profile, yet are unmet by other medicines.

The FDA is nearing final approval of its lead compound, Luvox CR, which was developed by Jazz to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD), two prevalent psychological disorders, and is expected to be released in 2008. In a July 11 research report, Lehman Brothers said, "We view Luvox CR as an attractive commercial opportunity for Jazz owing to the combination of: (1) a large, addressable patient population; (2) compelling clinical data including once-daily dosing; (3) a highly concentrated target physician audience; and (4) an absence of promoted brand products against which it will compete."

The latter point is the biggest one for me: Jazz is treading where other companies have not, and as a result, they will have a lock on a very viable landscape. Lehman Brothers expects Luvox CR sales to hit $170 million in 2011, and $230 million by 2015. If they are on target, and I believe they are, we will see Jazz increase significantly in value in the coming years, this upcoming year in particular, when Luvox CR is expected to hit the marketplace.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The educational services industry, the Latin American airlines sector, Asta Funding Inc (NASDAQ: ASFI) and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE: CMG) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• William Blair assumed coverage of Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ: APOL) and Strayer Education Inc (NASDAQ: STRA) with Outperform ratings and Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) with a Market Perform rating. The broker also assumed coverage and downgraded DeVry Inc (NYSE: DV) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA) with a Buy rating and $88 target, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (NYSE: GOL) and TAM SA (NYSE: TAM) with Neutral ratings and Lan Airlines SA (NYSE: LFL) with a Sell rating and $93 target; Lan Airlines was also initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Overweight rating and $105 target.
  
• Asta Funding was initiated at Kaufman Brothers with a Buy rating and $55 target. The firm believes the company should grow earnings at a midpoint of 20% over time, with near-term growth at 15% and longer-term growth at 20%-25%.
  
• Citigroup initiated shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill with a Buy rating and $100 target, as the firm expects the company will see unit growth at a rate in the high-teens while experiencing above-average SSS and some margin expansion.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• BMO Capital initiated shares of CDC Corp (NASDAQ: CHINA) with a Market Perform rating and $11 target.
  
• Jazz Technologies Inc (NYSE: JAZ) was initiated with a Buy rating and $5 target at Wedbush Morgan Securities.
  
• Calyon Securities initiated shares of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NYSE: PNK) with an Add rating and $32 target.
• Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Pacific Growth Equities.