Data releases are few and far between next week and will generally hold market attention only briefly. There are a fair number of Fed officials on the public speaking calendar, but it is Chairman Bernanke's testimony on Wednesday that will receive the most interest. The only major central bank to make a routine announcement during the week is the Bank of England, where no change in policy is expected.
In the end, the most prominent piece of economic data during the week is likely to prove to be the December international trade report on Friday. It will help fill out expectations for the second estimate of fourth quarter 2010 GDP in the net exports component.
Earnings season is well underway, and many of the headline-grabbing reports have already been released. However, there are still more than a few big names to report in the coming week. Retailers are beginning to release their earnings number, but industry powerhouse Walmart will not release its earnings data until Tuesday, February 22.
On Monday, reports include Choice Hotels, Edgar Online, Emerson Radio, Hasbro, Humana, Loews, Lorillard, Sysco, TMX Group, United Bancorp and Wausau Paper. Tuesday reports are from McAfee, Pitney Bowes, Sara Lee, Toyota, UBS and Walt Disney. Wednesday's reports include Air France-KLM, Allied Healthcare, Cisco Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation, Equifax, GM, Ingersoll-Rand, MetLIfe, Northrop Grumman, Sanofi-Aventis, Sonoco, Allstate, Coca-Cola, Hanover Insurance and Whole Foods. Reports on Thursday are from Borg Warner, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Credit Suisse, Fortis, Inland Real Estate Group, Kraft Foods, Molson Coors Brewing, PepsiCo, Philip Morris, Rio Tinto, Spectrum Brands, Sprint Nextel and Thompson Reuters, while ...read more
