Sunday, March 04, 2007

Weekly Outlook

Click here for The Week Ahead by Reuters
Click here for Stocks in Focus for Monday by MarketWatch

There are several economic reports of note and some significant corporate earnings reports scheduled for release this week.

Economic reports for the week include:

Mon. - ISM Non-Manufacturing

Tues. - Final 4Q Non-farm Productivity, Final 4Q Unit Labor Costs, Pending Home Sales, Factory Orders, weekly retail sales

Wed. - MBA Mortgage Applications, ADP Employment Change, Fed’s Beige Book, Consumer Credit

Thur. - Initial Jobless Claims

Fri. - Trade Balance, Change in Non-farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, Average Hourly Earnings, Wholesale Inventories

Some of the more noteworthy companies that release quarterly earnings this week are:

Mon. - ADC Telecom(ADCT), Mirant(MIR)

Tues. - 1-800 Contacts(CTAC), Brown-Forman(BF/B), Chico’s FAS(CHS), Conseco(CNO), Copart(CPRT), John Wiley & Sons(JW/A), Payless Shoesource(PSS)

Wed. - American Eagle Outfitters(AEOS), BJ’s Wholesale Club(BJ), Coldwater Creek(CWTR), Dick’s Sporting Goods(DKS), Foot Locker(FL), Genesco(GCO), Men’s Wearhouse(MW), Michaels Stores(MW), Saks Inc.(SKS), Talbots(TLB), Westwood One(WON)

Thur. - Anworth Mortgage(ANH), Cooper Cos(COO), Costco Wholesale(COST), Georgia Gulf(GGC), Hovnanian Enterprises, Korn/Ferry(KFY), National Semi(NSM), Neiman Marcus(NMG/A), Tech Data(TECD), Veritas DGC(VTS)

Fri. - Big Lots(BLI), Hibbett Sports(HIBB), Quiksilver(ZQK), Stage Stores(SSI), Urban Outfitters(URBN)

Other events that have market-moving potential this week include:

Mon. - Morgan Stanley Tech Conference, Merrill Lynch Global Auto Conference, Bear Stearns Media Conference, Citigroup Global Property Conference, (XLNX) analyst meeting, the Fed’s Poole speaking, the Fed’s Warsh speaking

Tue. - Thomas Weisel Internet & Digital Media Conference, Citigroup Global Property Conference, Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference, Morgan Stanley Tech Conference, Citigroup Global Industrial Conference, Bear Stearns Media Conference, (JPM) analyst meeting, the Fed’s Plosser speaking

Wed. - Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference, Morgan Stanley Tech Conference, CIBC Retail Conference, Bear Stearns Media Conference, Citigroup Global Property Conference, Citigroup Global Industrial Conference, Thomas Weisel Internet and Digital Media Conference, the Fed’s Moskow speaking

Thur. - Morgan Stanley Tech Conference, Pacific Crest On-Demand Conference, monthly retail sales reports

Fri. - None of note

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week mixed as mostly positive earnings reports, constructive Fed commentary, buyout speculation, lower energy prices, short-covering and bargain-hunting offset lingering sub-prime mortgage and emerging market concerns. My trading indicators are giving mostly bearish signals and the Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.

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