The January 17 week is shortened in U.S. markets by the M.L. King, Jr. Day on Monday.
The relatively light data calendar for the week is dominated by housing data, although the earliest monthly reads on the manufacturing sector in January include the New York Fed's Empire State Survey on Tuesday and the Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook on Thursday. After the soft patch of the summer months in 2010, the overall direction of manufacturing activity seems to have settled back into steady expansionary trends.
The Bank of Canada makes its routine policy statement on Tuesday and then the report on initial US jobless claims comes on Thursday. Claims levels have been moving lower, and the underlying trend appears to be nearing the 400,000 level. The data have been somewhat volatile due to some mismatches in the adjustment factors and levels that do not match the usual seasonal pattern.
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicator for December on Thursday should increase for another month on positive contributions from interest rates, stock prices, unemployment claims, consumer confidence, building permits, new orders, money supply, and contracts for plant and equipment expenditures.
At a corporate level, the release of Q4 earnings data picks up pace in the week. A number of major financial firms are on the calendar, as well as some other industry giants and market favourites. On Tuesday, the main reports are from Apple, Charles Schwab, Citigroup and Delta Air Lines. On Wednesday, the big names are eBay, Goldman Sachs, State Street and Wells Fargo. On Thursday, the eye-catching reports will probably be AMD, Fifth Third Bancorp, Google, Morgan Stanley, Southwest Airlines and Tyco Electronics. On Friday, reports are expected from Air Products,
Aigas, Bank of America, BB&T Corporation, GE and Schlumberger.
For the remainder of January, the Bank of Japan Governors meet on...read more
