Yellow school buses and superheroes in red and blue color the week ahead. Let's take a closer look.

Monday
We kick off the new trading week quietly. On the eve of the holiday, stateside companies will be mum on the earnings front. They don't want to be drowned out by the loud fireworks or out-of-town investors taking advantage of the holiday.

If you want something to do, check out the weekend's box-office results. Naturally, Superman Returns will be the top draw at the multiplex, but how much will the Man of Steel rake in? Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) spent a record $260 million on the flick, so expectations are super, man.

Tuesday
Independence Day! Celebrate the American Way with hot dogs and apple pie. Yes, vegetarians can go with soy dogs, and those watching their caloric intake may substitute sugary apple filling with baked apple crisps. Chevrolet, too, you say? General Motors (NYSE: GM) can use the help, so go for it! All you need to know is that the market won't be lighting up the sky with any financial pyrotechnics as it takes the day off -- just like you.

Enjoy!

Wednesday
You didn't think that domestic companies would get up early after the holiday, did you? Wednesday will feature mostly overseas companies like Oce (Nasdaq: OCENY) chiming in. Oce is a Netherlands-based maker of copiers, printers, and other imaging products. That's right, we will be going from "Oh, say, can you see" to "Oce, can you see how the past three months went?"

Thursday
The few American companies tempting the holiday mojo by producing quarterly reports trickle in on Thursday. Laidlaw (NYSE: LI) will be leading the way. Analysts expect significant improvement out of the bus maker, with earnings clocking in at $0.51 a share off a $0.30 showing a year earlier. School is out, and the company's yellow buses may be in storage, but its Greyhound Lines business is probably putting on the miles as it gets summer travelers moving around.

Friday
Capping off the holiday-shortened trading week, A. Schulman (Nasdaq: SHLM) reports on Friday. Wall Street is looking for a big step here, too. The company earned $0.19 a share in last year's fiscal third quarter, and the market is holding out for $0.29 per share this time around. Nathan Parmelee took a closer look at the company late last year, if you want to get up to speed with the plastic giant's business before Friday's report.