It was about 18 years ago that I attended my first shareholders' meeting (for a local utility). The company had recently eliminated the dividend and many several angry people were in the crowd. It was exciting stuff.

But it was also an exception -- at least based on many other shareholder meetings I've attended (which are mostly formalities).

Despite this, I thought things would be different with the Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) meeting, which happened last week.

Well, I was wrong. Apparently, the meeting was a snooze-fest. In fact, Yahoo!'s shareholders voted overwhelming to keep their board members. This was despite the fact that the company seemed to fumble a juicy $47.5 billion buyout offer from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Interestingly enough, at the board meeting, the directors made it clear that they were thoughtful about the offer but also wanted to get the best deal for shareholders. Moreover, Yahoo! said that it was surprised that Microsoft withdrew its offer.

Of course, Yahoo! has also been the target of activist shareholder, Carl Icahn. Then again, he'll be on the board anyway (where I'm sure he'll make his views widely known).

Monday July 9

• The Chicago Board of Trade (NYSE: BOT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc (NYSE: CME) to hold a special shareholder meeting in Chicago about merging at 4pm.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) to hold a business update at 4:30pm.
• Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Tuesday July 10

• Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, to be held from July 10-July 13 in Santa Monica, California.
• The Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) to release a 2007 Sales Update at 9am.
• Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Here is a quick look at this upcoming holiday shortened week.

Monday May 28

• Markets closed for Memorial Day holiday.
• PDUFA date for MedImmune Inc's (NASDAQ: MEDI) sBLA for CAIV-T.

Tuesday May 29

• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) to hold webcast at 4:30pm to discuss newly announced Mobility Solutions.
• Verifone Holdings Inc (NYSE: PAY) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• BMC Software Inc (NYSE: BMC) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Wednesday May 30

• Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) to hold shareholders meeting at 10am.

Thursday May 31

• Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL) to report Q1 earnings after market close.
• Novellus Systems Inc (NASDAQ: NVLS) to hold mid-quarter update conference call at 4:30pm.

Friday June 1

• Weyerhauser Company (NYSE: WY) to hold analyst meeting at 9am.

Monday May 21

• JPMorgan 35th Annual Technology Conference.
• Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE: LOW) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9am. Lowe's is expected to post sub-par revenue results and an EPS decline, given the continued sluggishness in U.S. housing sector.
• PDUFA date for Shire plc's (NASDAQ: SHPGY) SPD-465 for ADHD in adults.

Tuesday May 22

• Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• Men's Wearhouse Inc (NYSE: MW) to hold conference to at 5pm discuss Q1 earnings, detail its acquisition of After Hours and discuss the impact on 2007 guidance.

Wednesday May 23

• Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

Thursday May 24

• McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) to hold shareholder meeting at 10am.
• Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Friday May 25

• Lowe's to hold annual shareholder meeting at 10am. Note that Lowe's reports on Monday 5/21.
• Agilysys Inc (NASDAQ: AGYS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11am.

Hoorah, now that this earnings period is starting to wind down, I can highlight some non-earnings events to look out for next week.

Monday May 14

• Hitachi Ltd (NYSE: HIT) Strategic Storage Announcement conference call at 8am.
• Aircastle Limited (NYSE: AYR) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• Another Vioxx trial starts for Merck and Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) in Texas.

Tuesday May 15

• Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT) mobile experience at 10am.
• Yamana Gold Inc (NYSE: AUY) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11am.

Wednesday May 16

• Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) shareholder meeting at 11am.
• Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Thursday May 17

• JC Penney Company Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Liz Claiborne Inc (NYSE: LIZ) annual shareholder meeting at 10am.
• Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) research and development day at 8:30am.

Friday May 18

• British Airways (NYSE: BAB) to report preliminary Q4 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Federated Department Stores Inc (NYSE: FD) shareholder meeting at 11am.

Earnings continue going strong, and a host of important shareholder meetings also take place this week.

Monday May 7

• SEC to hold Open Commission Meeting at 9am
• McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Analysts will concentrate on McKesson's pharmaceutical solutions revenue, new distribution clients/new business, new IT solutions introduced, labor/benefits costs, operating expenses, sector position by business line, and margins.

Tuesday May 8

• Echostar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) to hold shareholder meeting at 2pm.
• Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Investors will look for comments on how the company is integrating its game line-up onto the three new game systems -- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

Wednesday May 9

• Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) to hold a shareholder meeting at 1pm.
• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) will hold a two-day capital markets meeting in Stockholm.

Thursday May 10

• Viacom Inc (NYSE: VIA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. In addition to motion picture results, analysts will focus on VIA's broadcast advertising revenue, and the company's efforts to broaden its relatively-tight-demogaphic cable television audience.
  
• Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) to hold Windows Mobile Business Update at 12pm.
• Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) to hold a shareholder meeting at 5pm in Mountain View.

Friday May 11

• American International Group (NYSE: AIG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will concentrate of AIG's overall premium growth for its property/casualty unit, along with improved cost controls company-wide -- a pivotal factor for a superior performance, moving forward.
  

Monday March 19

• Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE: NT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will be focused on Nortel's Mobility enterprise solutions revenue, as well as new business opportunities and clients.

Tuesday March 20

• Two well known technology companies to report -- Adobe Systems Inc's (NASDAQ: ADBE) Q1 conference call is at 5pm, Oracle Corporation's (NASDAQ: ORCL) Q3 conference call is at 5pm.

• PDUFA Date for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: ALXN) Solaris, a treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare blood disorder.

Wednesday March 21

• The International Trade Commission will hold a public hearing on the Patent Infringement case between Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) at 9:30am.

• Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) will hold a shareholder meeting at 1pm in Seattle. Ferris Baker Watts believes the meeting will alleviate some concerns over a previously leaked internal memo written by CEO Howard Schultz that had a cautious tone.

Thursday March 22

• Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Along with performance by region [North America, Europe, Asia], and evaluation of pricing pressures, analysts will review Nike's revised Air Force One product performance –- deemed a catalyst for growth moving forward .

Friday March 23

• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Virginia District Court to hold injunction hearing between Vonage Holdings Corp (NYSE: VG) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ).

Monday February 19

• U.S. markets closed for President's Day holiday

Tuesday February 20

• Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 7:30am. Analysts will review Wal-Mart's same store sales, overall traffic, new products displayed, overall product mix, employee retention rates, sector position, and margins, along with Wal-Mart's overall global new store opening timetable, including store square footage expansion targets.
• Hewlett Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Analysts will be focusing on HP's overall revenue, the performance of their various divisions, and any comnent's HP makes about the effect of the launch of Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Vista on sales.
• Caremark Rx (NYSE: CMX) had scheduled a special shareholder meeting regarding the CVS Corporation (NYSE: CVS) merger today. It was postponed until at least March 9 by the Delaware Chancery Court to allow more time for dissemination of information.

Wednesday February 21

• Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) to hold press conference, according to PhoneNews.com, which speculated that the conference could be the end of patent disputes between Nokia and Qualcomm, meaning Nokia may announce a return to CDMA handset distribution, with EV-DO chipsets.

Thursday February 22

• BEA Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BEAS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Note that BEA Systems just concluded a stock options review that did not result in a breakup in management, which Pacific Crest Securities believes removes an overhang on the company.

Friday February 23

• CVS Corp had scheduled a shareholder meeting today, but it has been postponed in light of the Delaware Chancery Court's decision to enjoin the February 20, 2007 shareholder meeting of Caremark Rx.

For anyone that is actually watching the markets next week, here is just about everything happening in a very light four-day week sandwiched between two national holidays.

Monday December 25

• Markets are closed for the Christmas holiday

Tuesday December 26

• Healthcare conference calls: Merrill Lynch 10:00am, Bank of America 10:30am, Bear Stearns 11:00am

Wednesday December 27

• Delta and Pine Land Company (NYSE: DLP) will hold an earnings conference call at 10:00am
• Bear Stearns will hold a retailing-broadlines conference call at 10:00am

Thursday December 28

• Learning Tree International Inc (NASDAQ: LTRE) will hold its earnings conference call
• Newpark Resources, Inc (NYSE: NR) will hold its shareholder meeting at 11:00am
• Hurray! Holding Co., Ltd (NASDAQ: HRAY) to hold a firm-sponsored meeting with Think Equities

Friday December 29

• The Mills Corporation (NYSE: MLS) will hold its shareholder meeting at 10:00am