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:

When businesses grow beyond a certain size, they can find that disparate hardware and software systems slow the implementation of new procedures and impede growth. There is an company in Bedford, Massachusetts, that helps firms develop business applications that overcome those problems.

Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS) provides programs designed to simplify and accelerate the development, deployment, integration and management of business software applications. The firm's various product lines help developers detect and act on patterns in high velocity data streams; achieve standards-based mainframe integration; connect applications running on various platforms; and integrate data for distributed applications. Customers include Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) and the U.S. Army.

When businesses grow beyond a certain size, they can find that disparate hardware and software systems slow the implementation of new procedures and impede growth. There is an outfit in Bedford, Massachusetts that helps firms develop business applications that overcome those problems.

Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS) provides programs designed to simplify and accelerate the development, deployment, integration and management of business software applications. The firm's various product lines help developers detect and act on patterns in high velocity data streams; achieve standards-based mainframe integration; connect applications running on various platforms; and integrate data for distributed applications. Customers include DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX), The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM). Competitors include Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL).

The company pleased investors last week, when it announced Q2 EPS of 45 cents and revenues of $120 million. Analysts had been expecting 41 cents and $116.3 million. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 42-44 cents (43 cent consensus), Q3 revenues to $118-$120 million ($117.90M consensus), FY07 EPS to $1.72-$1.75 ($1.72 consensus) and FY07 revenues to $475-$485 million ($477.32M consensus). The news kept PRGS shares cycling through a positive 14-week trading channel. The price is currently consolidating near the base of that channel, where oversold CCI, Stochastic and MACD technical parameters suggest the potential for a rise back toward the top.

Brokers recommend the issue with two "strong buys," three "buys" and one "hold." Analysts see an18% average annual growth rate through the next five years. The PRGS Price to Sales ratio (2.75), Price to Book ratio (2.74) and Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (24.59) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutions hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 600 SmallCap Index. Over the past 52-weeks, it has traded between $21.33 and $34.45. A stop-loss of $28 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.