Catalysts to Watch-Economics calendar-Corporate Events Calendar (China and the yuan, $GOOG)

Catalysts to Watch

·         To watch for the week coming up – all eyes will be on Greece as the EU Heads of State Hold a summit on 3/25.  It seems like Europe will simply reiterate what they have been saying – that a plan is in place to give assistance should it be needed but at the moment no such aid is required and no details will be provided to the marketplace.  China and the yuan will be in focus as China kicks off its China Development Forum (starts Mar 20) and the House holds a hearing on the yuan Mar 24.  This week, the Treasury will sell $44 billion in two-year notes (Tues), $42 billion in five-year notes (Wed) and $32 billion in seven-year securities (Thurs).  In commodities, the CFTC will hold a meeting on Mar 25 to start examining if speculators in the base- and precious-metals markets should be subject to trading limits.  press reports have indicated that GOOG on Mon may formally announce that it is ending its Google.cn search engine in China due to an inability to reach a deal w/regulators. 

Economics calendar – daily view

·         Tuesday, Mar. 23rd: US (Existing Home Sales, House Price Index, Richmond Fed, ABC Consumer Confidence); Eurozone (UK - CPI, Retail Prices); Other (n/a).

·         Wednesday, Mar. 24th: US (Durable Goods, MBA Mortgage Applications, New Home Sales); Eurozone (German – PMI Manufacturing, IFO, Eurozone PMI Manufacturing); Other (New Zealand GDP, Japan Trade Balance).

·         Thursday, Mar. 25th: US (Jobless Claims); Eurozone (German Consumer Confidence, UK Retail Sales); Other (Australia Conference Board Leading Index, Japan CPI).

·         Friday, Mar. 26th: US (Third/Final Q4 GDP, PCE, Michigan Confidence); Eurozone (n/a); Other (Switzerland KOF Institute Economic Forecast).

Corporate Events Calendar

·         Mon Mar 22: earnings after the close (MPG).  Analyst meetings (KMB, PEP, NZ). 

·         Tues Mar 23: earnings before the open (Imperial Tobacco, KBH, SCS, CCL, WAG, PVH).  Earnings after the close (SONC, PRGS, DRI, ADBE, JBL).  Analyst meetings (PEP, CPO, RMBS). 

·         Wed Mar 24: earnings before the open (CMC, Li & Fung, China Unicom, LEN, GIS, Q-Cells, Sainsbury, Man Group); earnings after the close (RHT, CKR, PAYX).  Analyst meeting (COP). 

·         Thurs Mar 25: earnings before the open (CAG, CONN, UTIW, BBY, MKC, SolarWorld).  Earnings after the close (WTSLA, ACN, TIBX, ORCL, SMOD, SNX, FINL, SABA).  Analyst meetings (SI, SRE).

·         Fri Mar 26: analyst meetings (HS, EAT)