Weekly Outlook

Click here for the Wall St. Week Ahead by Reuters.

Click here for Stocks in Focus for Monday by MarketWatch.com.

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. – ISM Manufacturing, ISM Prices Paid, Total Vehicle Sales

Tues. – Weekly retail sales reports

Wed. – Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, weekly EIA energy inventory report, Challenger Job Cuts, ADP Employment Change, Final 3Q Non-farm Productivity, Final 3Q Unit Labor Costs, Factory Orders, ISM Non-Manufacturing

Thur. – Initial Jobless Claims, ICSC Chain Store Sales

Fri. – Change in Non-Farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, Average Hourly Earnings, Univ. of Mich. Consumer Confidence, Consumer Credit

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

Mon. – Phillips-Van Heusen(PVH), Cost Plus(CPWM), BearingPoint(BE)

Tues. – Autozone(AZO), Chico’s FAS(CHS), Sanderson Farms(SAFM), Guess ?(GES), Shaw Group(SGR), Copart(CPRT)

Wed. – DSW Inc.(DSW), Aspen Technology(AZPN), Blyth Inc.(BTH), Novell Inc.(NOVL)

Thur. – Korn/Ferry(KFI), UTi Worldwide(UTIW), National Semi(NSM), Synopsys(SNPS), Krispy Kreme(KKD), Quanex(NX, Toll Brothers(TOL), Pathmark Stores(PTMK)

Fri. – Kellwood(KWD)

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

Mon. – Fed’s Rosengren speaking, Fed’s Yellen speaking, (SLG) analyst meeting, (GKK) analyst meeting, Bear Stearns Real Estate Conference, Banc of America Credit Conference, (LSTR) mid-quarter conference call, (MET) Investor’s Day, UBS Global Media Conference

Tue. – (NOK) capital market day, (TXRH) analyst meeting, (ARBA) financial analyst day, (MDU) analyst meeting, (IFX) analyst meeting, BMO Healthcare Conference, Banc of America Credit Conference, Citigroup Basic Materials Conference, Bear Stearns Real Estate Conference, UBS Global Media Conference

Wed. – BOE Policy Meeting, (FTE) investor day, (XEL) investor meeting, (ATO) analyst meeting, (OREX) analyst luncheon, (BMY) investment meeting, BMO Healthcare Conference, Wachovia Global Real Estate Conference, UBS Global Media Conference, Lehman Brothers Global Tech Conference, ThinkEquity Alternative Energy Forum, Citigroup Basic Materials Conference, (XLNX) mid-quarter update

Thur. – ECB Policy Meeting, (PHG) analysts’ day, (FE) analyst meeting, (PRS) analyst meeting, (PH) investor day, (KNXA) analyst meeting, (SCUR) investor day, (SVVS) analyst meeting, (SFI) investor day, BOE Policy Meeting, Deutsche Bank Healthcare Tech Day, Stifel, Nicolaus Financial Institutions Conference, CIBC Communications Software 1-on-1 Conference, Citigroup ePayments Day, Lehman Brothers Tech Conference, ThinkEquity Alternative Energy Forum

Fri. – (SON) analysts’ meeting, (HSC) analysts conference, (RRGB) analyst meeting, Lehman Brothers Tech Conference

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week mixed as a firmer dollar, lower energy prices, seasonal strength, less economic pessimism and short-covering offsets profit-taking. My trading indicators are now giving mostly bullish signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.