FedEx Corp. (FDX), the world's leading package delivery service and an ostensible bellwether of the U.S. economy, will dance its way onto the earnings stage this week. Also, with the holiday shopping season well underway, Best Buy Co. (BBY) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) are scheduled to offer up their most recent quarterly results.

Here's a closer look at what the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting from these three, plus a peek at the week's economic calendar.

I'm sure Best Buy (BBY) is one of the busier places at the mall this month; consumers love to give the gift of electronics. Should investors give their portfolios the gift of the company's stock?

Last time I wrote about the chain, around the middle of September, the stock was seeing a bid on second-quarter earnings news. Management had beaten expectations at the time, and same-store sales, while not impressive on an absolute basis, were acceptable when compared with the previous year's number. The shares have performed well since the report; they closed Monday's session at $42.49. A look at the one-year chart shows the recent uptrend.

We won't know until a couple days have passed, exactly how large a success or failure Cyber Monday 2010 has actually been. One thing is for certain though, manufacturers such as Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and retailers including Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) are taking the concept ever more seriously with the hope that it shall return more than just the echo of an already trite catch phrase.

What has become obvious to me though is that the idea of Cyber Monday has given way to a virtual cyber week, or perhaps a cyber month, or perhaps more accurately, a cyber shopping lifestyle. People who shop on line are going to shop on line. We know it's smart. We really don't need a declared virtual event to motivate us.

GameStop Corp. (GME) is down about 3.8% at the time of this writing. That places the quote at $20.20. Volume is pretty heavy. The 52-week low for the stock is $17.12; the 52-week high is $26.05. Looks like the market isn't exactly sure what to do with this company as the shares are at a comfortable distance between the two extremes.

Earlier today, the video-game chain reported earnings for the third quarter. According to the press release, net income, on an adjusted basis, came in at 38 cents per share. That was one penny above the estimate. Total company same-store sales increased 1.1%.

RadioShack (RSH) is not getting good reception this afternoon. At the time of this writing, with about two hours to go before the end of the trading session, shares of the electronics retailer are down 7.8% to $21.03. Volume is heavy.

The third-quarter earnings report was released earlier today, and you may wonder what's up after you see the data. According to Briefing.com, net income of 37 cents per share was two pennies ahead of the estimate. Same-store sales increased over 6%. Overall revenue also seemed pretty decent. So why the negative response by the market?

Analyst Upgrades

• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital, as the firm thinks the company's valuation is inexpensive while it will perform well during the holiday season.
• Credit Suisse upgraded CF Industries (CF) to outperform from neutral, citing favorable fundamentals in nitrogen and phosphate markets.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was raised to buy from hold by Jefferies, which cited expectations for higher selling prices next year and cost savings from sourcing more components internally.
• BMO Capital upgraded RC2 Corp. (RCRC) to outperform from market perform as the firm believes that RC2's baby products are performing better than previously expected.
• Ericsson (ERIC) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merril.
• ProLogis (PLD) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Constellation Energy (CEG) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.

Bookstores disappearing, music stores almost gone, video stores all but done -- and GameStop Corp. (GME) is next. Yes, it's days are numbered, we just don't know what that number is yet.

I have been pondering this for a while, off and on, and did a very limited survey of two teenage boys -- mine -- asking them their thoughts about GameStop. The 17-year-old was playing a game on his Apple (AAPL) MacBook Pro at the time. He said he downloads free games or buys them, but all from the Web. He knew he could buy used games inexpensively at GameStop but had never done so and thought this business activity would fade.

The 14-year-old was also on his Mac, using FaceBook and YouTube. He said he had been to GameStop with friends in the past but never bought anything. Both boys use their cell phones to play games in the car.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded AT&T (T) to outperform from neutral and has a $35 target on the stock. Credit Suisse believes the impact from AT&T's loss of iPhone exclusivity will be less than expected and that the stock should benefit from its earnings growth and dividend yield.
• Goldman upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $94 from $79 based on improving copper fundamentals.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded Valueclick (VCLK) to vuy from hold on expectations Google Instant (GOOG) could drive marketing traffic. The firm raised its target price for Valueclick shares to $15 from $11.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to buy from sell at Societe Generale.
• CarMax (KMX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Best Buy (BBY) is up over 6% at the time of this writing, yielding a quote of $36.77; volume is awesome. What a nice bit of price action for the retailer. And if you did an earnings trade with this one, congratulations, you made some money.

If you look at the electronics retailer's chart, you'll see something of a scary picture. The shares peaked near the latter part of April after reaching a 52-week high of $48.83. Since then, the stock has been in a downtrend.

Best Buy Inc. (BBY), the nation's largest consumer electronics outlet, is scheduled to discuss its second-quarter fiscal 2011 financial results Tuesday, September 14, in a conference call beginning at 10:00 AM (ET). You can catch a live webcast of the call at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in August, Best Buy named a chief design officer and increased its quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company to post earnings of 46 cents per share, which is a 19.6% increase from a year ago. Its revenue is expected to have grown 5.7% to $11.7 billion.

Last week, the Fed's Beige Book report confirmed that the economy continues to grow, but at a slower pace than in previous periods. This week will bring plenty of economic data to either support or contrast with the Fed's findings.

• Monday: Federal government budget balance for August
• Tuesday: Business inventory numbers from July, TIPP Economic Optimism Index for September, retail sales data from August
• Wednesday: Industrial production in August, Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September, Import Price Index for August
• Thursday: Producer Price Index for August, Philly Fed Survey for September, the Current Account Balance in the second quarter, jobless claims for last week
• Friday: preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, Consumer Price Index for August, real earnings data for August

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) closed up 80 cents to $32.48. BBY is expected to report Q2 EPS in mid September. September put option implied is at 45, December is at 41, versus its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFMI) closed up 52 cents to $35.87. September put option implied volatility is at 35, November puts are at 45 versus its 26-week average of 39, according to Track Data, suggesting larger November price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman believes EOG Resources (EOG) can regain its premium multiple given its ability to find new horizontal liquids resource plays. The firm upgraded shares to conviction buy from buy and has a $129 price target on the stock.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Macerich (MAC) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and raised its target for shares to $47 from $45.
• Needham upgraded QuinStreet (QNST) to strong buy from buy, citing the strong Q4 report and valuation, and has a $20 target on the stock.
• Macy's (M) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Texas Instruments (TXN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Now that Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) has made mobile a clear strategic priority for the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S., why not private label a broadband internet service and sell it? That's precisely what Best Buy is doing with Clearwire Corporation (CLWR), as it is taking the latter's 4G wireless nationwide network and branding its "Best Buy Connect" with that network.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Norfolk Southern (NSC) to overweight from neutral, citing the company's leverage to coal and position relative to peers. The firm has a $68 price target for shares.
• Benchmark upgraded Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) to hold from sell based on a more favorable earnings outlook and reduced dividend risk.
• UBS upgraded Costco (COST) to buy from neutral based on valuation. The firm raised its price target to $63 from $62.
• Visa (V) was upgraded to gonviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• KLA-Tencor (KLAC) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Texas Instruments (TXN) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.