Weekly Outlook

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Click here for stocks in focus for Monday by MarketWatch.

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

Economic reports for the week include:

Mon. – Current Account Balance, Empire Manufacturing, Net Long-term TIC Flows, Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization, NAHB Housing Market Index

Tues. – Weekly retail sales reports, Producer Price Index, Housing Starts, FOMC Rate Decision

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

Thur. – Initial Jobless Claims, Philly Fed, Leading Indicators

Fri. – US Markets Closed

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

Mon. – Conseco(CNO), Bear Stearns(BSC), AES Corp.(AES)

Tues. – GameStop(GME), Factset Research(FDS), Lehman Brothers(LEH), Goldman Sachs(GS), Darden Restaurants(DRI), Focus Media(FMCN), Adobe Systems(ADBE)

Wed. – Discover Financial Services(DFS), Morgan Stanley(MS), Ross Stores(ROST), General Mills(GIS), Nike(NKE), Borders Group(BGP), Herman Miller(MLHR), Cintas Corp.(CTAS), Guess?(GES)

Thur. – Barnes & Noble(BKS), FedEx Corp.(FDX), Dillard’s(DDS), Carnival Corp.(CCL)

Fri. – US Markets Closed

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

Mon. – Cowen Health Care Conference, Citi Small/Mid-cap Emerging Growth Conference

Tue. – Cowen Health Care Conference, UBS Specialty Chemicals Conference, JPMorgan Aviation/Transportation Conference, Lehman Healthcare Conference, Citi Small/Mid-cap Emerging Growth Conference, Morgan Stanley Global Automotive Conference

Wed. – (OMX) investor day, Lehman Healthcare Conference, Bear Stearns Global Oil & Gas Conference, JPMorgan Aviation/Transportation Conference, Cowen Healthcare Conference, Citi Small/Mid-cap Emerging Growth Conference, Morgan Stanley Global Automotive Conference, BB&T Manufacturing/Materials Conference

Thur. – (GAS) analyst luncheon, (PEG) analyst meeting, Lehman Healthcare Conference, Cowen Healthcare Conference, BB&T Manufacturing/Materials Conference, Bear Stearns Global Oil & Gas Conference

Fri. – US Markets Closed

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week mixed as a 75 basis point fed funds rate cut, a firmer dollar, lower energy prices, short-covering and bargain hunting offset financial sector angst and economic pessimism. My trading indicators are giving mostly bearish signals and the Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.