Weekly Outlook

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

Economic reports for the week include:

Mon. – US markets closed

Tues. – Weekly retail sales reports

Wed. – Weekly MBA mortgage applications report, NAHB Housing Market Index

Thur. – Weekly EIA energy inventory data, Initial Jobless Claims, Housing Starts, House Price Index

Fri. – None of note

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

Mon. – US markets closed

Tues. – Forest Labs(FRX), Jeffries Group(JEF), Precision Castparts(PCP), Fastenal(FAST), Continental Air(CAL), IBM(IBM), CSX Corp.(CSX), TD Ameritrade(AMTD), State Street(STT), Johnson & Johnson(JNJ)

Wed. – Progressive Corp.(PGR), Coach Inc.(COH), Air Products(APD), US Bancorp(USB), Abbott Labs(ABT), BlackRock Inc.(BLK), United Technologies(UTX), Burlington Northern(BNI), F5 Networks(FFIV), AllianceBernstein(AB), SLM Corp.(SLM), Noble Corp.(NE), Kinder Morgan(KMP), AMR Corp.(AMR), Allegheny Technologies(ATI), Citrix Systems(CTXS), eBay Inc.(EBAY), UAL Corp.(UAUA), Raymond James(RJF), Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Thur. – SunTrust Banks(STI), Sherwin-Williams(SHW), ITT Educational(ESI), BB&T Corp.(BBT), Comerica(CMA), United Health(UNH), AmerisourceBergen(ABC), Fifth Third Bancorp(FITB), Bank of NY(BK), Interactive Broker(IBKR), Capital One(COF), BancorpSouth(BXS), Federated Investors(FII), Microsoft Corp.(MSFT), Brinker Intl.(EAT), National City(NCC), Union Pacific(UNP), Southwest Air(LUV), Baxter Intl(BAX), Exelon(EXC), International Game Tech(IGT), Lockheed Martin(LMT), Consolidated Edison(ED), Keycorp(KEY), Google Inc.(GOOG), Intuitive Surgical(ISRG)

Fri. – Schlumberger(SLB), General Electric(GE), US Air(LCC), Northrop Grumman(NOC), Domino’s Pizza(DPZ)

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

Mon. – US markets closed

Tue. – Presidential inauguration

Wed. – None of note

Thur. – (JBL) Shareholders Meeting, (NAV) Analyst Meeting, (MOH) Investor Day, (DRI) Analyst Meeting, (APD) Shareholders Meeting, Bank of America REIT Summit

Fri. – (NUVO) Shareholders Meeting, (DRI) Analyst Meeting

BOTTOM LINE: I expect US stocks to finish the week higher on lower mortgage rates, bargain-hunting, short-covering, technical buying and declining credit market angst. My trading indicators are giving neutral signals and the Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.