Weekly Outlook

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

Economic reports for the week include:

Mon. – None of note

Tues. – IDB/TIPP Economic Optimism, weekly retail sales, Minutes of Sept. 18 FOMC Meeting

Wed. – Weekly EIA energy inventory report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, Wholesale Inventories

Thur. – Trade Balance, Import Price Index, Initial Jobless Claims, ICSC Chain Store Sales

Fri. – Producer Price Index, Advance Retail Sales, Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence, Business Inventories

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

Mon. – Biomet(BMET), Yum! Brands(YUM), Mosaic Company(MOS)

Tues. – Alcoa Inc.(AA), OSI Pharmaceuticals(OSIP), Host Hotels(HST), Progressive Corp.(PGR), Monsanto(MON), Ruby Tuesday(RT)

Wed. – Costco Wholesale(COST), Lam Research(LRCX), Schnitzer Steel(SCHN)

Thur. – PepsiCo Inc.(PEP), Safeway Inc.(SWY), SLM Corp.(SLM), Fastenal(FAST), IDT Corp.(IDT), Winnebago Industries(WGO)

Fri. – General Electric(GE), JB Hunt(JBHT)

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

Mon. – (TEG) financial analyst meeting, (ROC) analyst meeting, (HRL) analyst meeting

Tue. – The Fed’s Yellen speaking, (SFE) analyst day, (JCI) strategic review, (HRL) analyst meeting, (HME) analyst day, (MMM) investor day

Wed. – The Fed’s Rosengren speaking, (HRL) analyst meeting, (PETM) analyst meeting, (MSCC) analyst day, (MMM) investor day

Thur. – (HRL) analyst meeting, (IHS) investor day, (MSCS) analyst meeting

Fri. – The Fed’s Bernanke speaking, Fed’s Fisher speaking, Fed’s Yellen speaking and Fed’s Kohn speaking

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week mixed as diminishing credit market fears, lower energy prices, investment manager performance anxiety, a stronger US dollar, short-covering and better-than-expected consumer confidence offsets weaker-than-expected retail sales, more hawkish Fed commentary and profit-taking. My trading indicators are still giving bullish signals and the Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.