Alcoa (AA), Intel (INTC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will kick off a new earnings season this week when they report their results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Here's a quick look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see, followed by a glance at what's coming up on the economic calendar.

Alcoa

During its fourth quarter, Alcoa saw increased demand in emerging markets, sold surplus properties, and shared revenue targets with investors. Analysts forecast that earnings for the period will come to 19 cents per share, up from just a penny per share in the same quarter of last year. The New York-based aluminum producer also is expected to post revenue of $5.7 billion for the three months that ended in December, which is 4.5% more than a year earlier.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) started Tuesday on a high note, with the shares gaining more than 1% out of the gate. Traders appear to be responding to new comments from Jim Cramer, after the host of CNBC's Mad Money offered an upbeat opinion on the stock Monday.

Specifically, Cramer is enthusiastic about Netflix's push into streaming content, and he has high expectations for future subscriber growth. The analyst also argued that the stock's valuation is actually quite reasonable, when measured against the company's long-term growth rate. For traders looking to take part in continued gains by NFLX, Cramer suggested in-the-money call options.

"Las Vegas is coming back," declared Jim Cramer on Friday's episode of Mad Money. He went on to add, "MGM's the best way to speculate on the turn, especially considering that they helped get Senate majority leader Harry Reid re-elected."

Shares of MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) turned higher right out of the gate Thursday morning, surging roughly 4% with the sound of the opening bell. For the catalyst behind this bullish gap, we need look no further than peripatetic CNBC analyst Jim Cramer.

On Wednesday, the Mad Money host cited MEMC as his top pick within the solar sector. To back up his bullish opinion, Cramer cited three key factors: the recent $380 million sale of subsidiary SunEdison's Italian property, lowball earnings estimates from analysts, and heavy insider buying by company execs in recent months.

I didn't find this recap of Jim Cramer's CNBC show interesting because of his recommendations. I found it interesting because he talks of an overall "bearishness of the market." Cramer noted that this bearishness began in the tech sector, spread to retail, and is now creeping into the food sector.

He notes that it is "remarkable to see how little enthusiasm there is ... even for companies that are doing well." An example of this lack of enthusiasm for good performers is that analysts will cut price targets on a stock, but will raise the company's earnings estimate at the same time.

Quarterly reports continue to roll out this week, with results due from Allstate Corp. (ALL), Coca-Cola Co. (KO), Marriott International Inc. (MAR), Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP), New York Times Co. (NYT), Pepsico Inc. (PEP), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Viacom (VIA), Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and many others. Here's a look at a few of the companies that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to be the biggest earnings gainers this week.

Analysts are looking for Coinstar Inc. (CSTR), which distributes coin-counting, DVD-rental, and other self-service kiosks, to report that its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year ago to $0.32 per share. Revenue for the three months that ended in December is expected to have jumped 26.1% to $329.2 million. The analysts' forecast for the full year calls for earnings of $0.94 per share (+46.8%) on $1.2 billion in revenue (+25.9%). Coinstar has beat earnings estimates in the past three quarters, by as much as six cents per share.

Humana Inc. (HUM), who's shares (like other insurers') received a nice bump from the outcome of the special election in Massachusetts, is scheduled to discuss its fourth-quarter 2009 financial results and 2010 guidance in a conference call Monday, Feb. 1, at 9:00 AM (ET). A live webcast of the call will be available at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in December, Humana expanded its Medicare offerings and launched a share buyback program and a social media tool. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for earnings for that period to have grown 27.7% year over year to $1.48 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 4.0% higher to $7.8 billion.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), whose CEO testified before Congress this week, is scheduled to discuss its fourth-quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Friday, Jan. 15, at 9:00 AM (ET). You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in December, JPMorgan completed the integration of Chase and Washing Mutual banks and declared a quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for this New York-based financial giant to report that earnings rose 88.7% from a year ago to $0.62 per share, though that is 24.4% lower than in the third quarter. Fourth-quarter revenue is expected to total $27.0 billion, up 56.9% from a year ago, but down from $28.8 billion in the previous quarter.

The Federal Reserve's first Beige Book report of the year is due out this week. The report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The previous report, released in December, showed modest improvement in eight of the districts, while the October report confirmed that the economy was stabilizing after earlier declines.