Joseph lazzaro

Investors hope to see "more of the same" when PepsiCo reports fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday morning: sports/health drink and snack sales holding their own in developed markets, and increased carbonated beverage sales in key emerging markets in Latin America and Asia.

Apparently, lots of voters think it's healthy for neither party to have the votes in Congress to impose its will. But investors need to keep in mind the giant problems that need solving and that can get solved only if the Democrats and Republicans somehow learn to work together.

President Barack Obama releases his proposed $3.8 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2011 and immediately the hue and cry is one of "$1 trillion structural deficits," "a nation going broke" and "an unserviceable debt."

There's no doubt that Americans are getting serious about paying down credit-card balances and other debt. The era of the more frugal U.S. consumer continued in December as total consumer debt fell by $1.73 billion, marking the 11th straight monthly decline.

A lower jobless rate is welcome, but Americans will have to wait at least another month to hear unambiguously good news regarding jobs. Economists caution that the rate drop could prove temporary, and the Labor Department now says total job losses for the recession were 8.4 million.

More evidence that the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to heal, as factory orders rose a better-than-expected 1.0% in December.

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose by 8,000 to 480,000, the Labor Department said, disappointing economists who had expected a large decline to signal continued labor market healing.

Fast-food chain Burger King earned 37 cents per share in the last quarter, beating Wall Street's consensus estimate. But its sames-store sales disappointed again, dropping 2% in their third, consecutive quarterly decline.

A key service sector index inched higher in January, hovering just above the level that indicates an economic expansion.

Burger King is hoping its target market of adults ages 18 to 34 can lead it back to the revenue castle: double-digit revenue growth. To attract this market, the company will have to demonstrate meal uniqueness, value, service, and ambiance to up its share of a shrinking fast food market.