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:

Omnova Solutions Inc. (NYSE: OMN) makes coatings for carpet, upholstery, paper and tires, among other items, that improve the looks, performance, and durability of those products. Omnova senior management recently presented at the Deutsche Bank conference and used that occasion to alert investors to the fact that net sales for the recent quarter, 3Q 2007, increased 12.4% to $196.8 million. EPS from continuing operations increased a whopping 300% to $0.11. Despite steadily increasing prices for raw materials for its coatings, and a significant decrease in demand for new carpet due to across the board declines in new residential construction, Omnova has seen its sales volume increase as well as its sales prices. Net income increased a very favorable 36% to $4.5 million.

Omnova has hallowed out costs from administrative expenses and reduced its interest expense by reducing its debt load in order to counteract increases in the cost of goods sold. Omnova has also incorporated LEAN Six Sigma initiatives into all its production systems to reduce costs. These initiatives have led to a measurable increase in production output per employee. Investors always like to see a very engaged management team.

The stock price has fluctuated by up to 30%, opening the year trading at $4.87. The stock hit a high on March 19 , closing at $6.35, before giving up half that gain to close Friday at $5.51, a gain of about 13% since the first of the year.