Catalysts to Watch this Week

Catalysts to Watch

· the coming two weeks will be very quiet on the US corporate front as we gear up for the start of Q2 earnings on Mon Jul 12 (AA comes after the close on that day). 

· In Washington, Congress will vote on the financial regulatory reform bill (the House is scheduled for Tues and the Senate could vote on Thurs). 

· JPMorgan conf call - Implications of the Financial Reform Bill – Tues June 29 8amET. 

· In Europe, the Spanish "cajas" banks are supposed to have their consolidation plan wrapped up by June 30, although the really big news from EU banks won't come until mid-Jul (when the stress tests get published; the FT said they may hit on Jul 15). 

· Investors will be watching to see if BP takes any action to stabilize its stock price and restore confidence (wire reports have said a debt plan is in the offing although CNBC on Fri said an equity raise w/a SWF may be required at this point). 

· The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC)’s next public hearing titled “The Role of Derivatives in the Financial Crisis.”  Execs from AIG, GS will be speaking.  Wed June 30-Thurs Jul 1.  http://www.fcic.gov/news/pdfs/2010-0616-Advisory.pdf

· ECB - major 1yr liquidity facility expiration comes up this week (Jul 1)   

· Spain debt sale - 3 billion euro auction of Spain five-year debt on Thursday (Reuters) 

· Germany - German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a test of her authority when German lawmakers elect a new federal president on Wednesday (WSJ) 

· Important crop report due out on Wed – the USDA acreage report is due to be published on Wed.  analysts expect corn-planted area will total 89.3 million acres, 0.6% above the March estimate; soybean land will total 78.3 million acres, up 0.3%; and wheat area will reach 53.7 million acres, down 0.1%. Last year, farmers seeded 86.5 million acres of corn, 77.5 million of soybeans and 59.1 million of wheat – Barron’s