Financial Options

With the big G-20 financial summit happening over the weekend, the first part of the week will see markets largely moving on the basis of political news. From there, interest will move to the industrial production figures and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey as manufacturing has started to show the effects of the downturn with increased exports unable to offset badly lagging auto sales and exports themselves starting to drop.

Tuesday's big news will be the first inflation number of the week – the Producer Price Index. Two reports last week point to a likely drop in the inflation numbers this week. Import and export prices fell last month. The Consumer Price Index, the retail half of the inflation numbers, is due out Wednesday. The big drop in retail sales last month may have been influenced by a drop in retail prices as retailers tried to stoke consumer interest.

Also out Tuesday is the State Street Investor Confidence Index, which will be interesting if not enlightening as the financial panic winds down to a typical bear market.

Minor housing numbers come out Tuesday and Wednesday with reports on builder sentiment and housing starts. Builder sentiment could stabilize, but housing starts will likely remain down though they don't have much room to fall further.

Wednesday's big event should be the release of the Federal Open Market Committee Minutes from the Federal Reserve, but given the fact that the Treasury Secretary admitted last week that he and the Federal Reserve Chairman were completely out of their minds, reading it may be more an exercise in psychology than economics or finance.

Thursday, the Conference Board will release the US Leading Indicators, but this report will likely be overshadowed by the Jobless Claims report after a string of bad jobs news including a big jump in jobless claims last week.

*See more information on the Financial Roadmap series here. Earnings reports are companies of interest, NOT recommendations.