$1.06

Kayne Anderson Energy (NYSE: KED)

$0.36

$0.32

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Discounter Family Dollar should be thriving in this environment, so the higher profit target isn't a surprise. Getting margins to improve will be the meatier challenge, but Wall Street's finest believe that won't be a problem for Family Dollar.

Chattem makes over-the-counter drugstore staples Icy Hot, Gold Bond, and Aspercreme, so it also has "all weather" appeal. There has been a lot of chatter about penny pinchers trading down to cheaper house brands, but this is probably a bigger problem at the supermarket with foodstuffs than it is at the pharmacy, where loyal Chattem customers are less likely to take chances with less expensive brands.

Kayne Anderson Energy declared a lower quarterly dividend last week, so this report promises to be interesting. It may be the least likely of the three companies to come through, but something upbeat should come out of either Family Dollar, Chattem, or Kayne. Never look a gift earnings report in the mouth when the market -- on the whole -- is infected.  

7. On a more Sirius note
I've been following the progress of Sirius XM Radio 's (Nasdaq: SIRI) application for iPhone and Web-powered iPod touch devices since its launch last month. It's been a popular download on Apple 's (Nasdaq: AAPL) App Store.

Initial demand was strong enough to catapult the Sirius XM app up the charts. It was the second most popular free app during its opening weekend. However, its ranking quickly began to fade. Poor user ratings didn't help. Nevertheless, the Sirius XM streaming program has crept back into fifth place among free apps during the holiday weekend, after dipping as low as sixth a week earlier.

Sirius XM is doing its part to promote the premium-priced service, but its success would also bode well for other developers who want to monetize App Store programs beyond one-time purchases or ad-supported freebies.

At the very least, we may not be as afraid to commit to premium subscription services as the worrywarts would have you believe.

Some other reads to get you through the week: