Sunday, April 01, 2007

Weekly Outlook

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

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

Economic reports for the week include:

Mon. - ISM Manufacturing, ISM Prices Paid

Tues. - Pending Home Sales, Total Vehicle Sales, weekly retail sales

Wed. - weekly MBA Mortgage Applications, weekly EIA energy inventory data, Challenger Job Cuts, ADP Employment Change, Factory Orders, ISM Non-Manufacturing

Thur. - Initial Jobless Claims

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

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

Mon. - Armstrong World Industries(AWI)

Tues. - Intl. Speedway(ISCA), Shuffle Master(SHFL)

Wed. - Acuity Brands(AYI), AES Corp.(AES), Best Buy(BBY), Circuit City(CC), Delta & Pine Land(DLP), Micron Technology(MU), Monsanto(MON)

Thur. - American Greetings(AM), Constellation Brands(STZ), Immucor(BLUD), Pier 1(PIR), World Wrestling(WWE)

Fri. - None of note

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

Mon. - Howard Weil Energy Conference, Fed’s Poole speaking

Tue. - Howard Weil Energy Conference

Wed. - Morgan Stanley Global Automotive Conference, Bank of America Mini Healthcare Conference, Howard Weil Energy Conference, Prudential Metals & Mining Conference, Bank of England Policy Meeting

Thur. - Howard Weil Energy Conference, Morgan Stanley Global Automotive Conference

Fri. - None of note

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week modestly higher on better economic data, a firmer US dollar, buyout speculation, lower energy prices, short-covering and bargain-hunting. My trading indicators are giving mostly bullish signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.

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