Truth or Dare this Week

Do we dare hold stocks heading into Friday’s all important employment report? After all, GDP data reported last week told a different sort of truth than stocks had previously been signaling existed today. We have a busy economic and corporate event schedule this week, including the heavy hitting reports on employment, personal spending and manufacturing, plus earnings news from Facebook (NYSE: FB) and others. The entire economic and corporate event schedule follows.

Monday

There are three economic reports of significance scheduled for the American newswire Monday, and about a billion earnings reports.

The Personal Income & Outlays Report is due at 8:30 AM ET. Economists expect consumer spending increased 0.1% month-to-month in March, versus February’s 0.7% rise. This data is critical, given our consumer driven economy, with the service sector dominating it. Investors will certainly also note the PCE Price Index for its inflation measurement. For March, economists see the Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rising 0.1% after increasing at the same pace in February. The Core PCE Price Index is also of high interest, given its status as the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge. The same report offers the latest information on personal income. Economists see incomes up 0.4% month-to-month, versus February’s 1.1% increase.

Pending Home Sales data, an important early indicator for real estate, is due at 10:00 AM ET. Economists expect the representative index measuring contracts signed in the existing home market (not new homes) rose 0.7% in March, against the 1.0% decline seen in February.

The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank reports its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey Monday morning. This April measure is expected by economists to deteriorate, though continue to reflect economic expansion, with the economists’ consensus forecast set at 5.0, versus 7.4 in March.

Markets are closed in China and Japan; for China it’s the start of a three-day holiday.

In corporate news, American Express (NYSE: AXP) has its annual meeting scheduled. Patriot Coal is in bankruptcy court in an attempt to impose wage cuts upon its union workers.

The earnings schedule highlights news from Eaton (NYSE: ETN), Express Scripts (Nasdaq: ESRX), Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC), Loews (NYSE: L), Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL), Roper Industries (NYSE: ROP), The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) and many others.

Tuesday

Several economic reports are on tap for Tuesday. The first quarter’s Employment Cost Index is due for report at 8:30 AM ET. Economists see the index higher by 0.5%, after rising by the same amount in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The Case Shiller Home Price Index is due around 9:00 AM ET for the month of February. Economists see the 20-City seasonally adjusted index rising 1.0% month-to-month, same as it grew the month before.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is due for report at 9:45 AM. This measure of Midwestern manufacturing is expected by economists to show the PMI for April held steady at 52.4, but I have my doubts.

At 10:00 AM, the Conference Board reports again on its Consumer Confidence Index. Last month, this index and its peer measure at the University of Michigan showed consumer confidence fell off a cliff. This latest measurement, reflecting April sentiment, is expected by economists to improve to a mark of 62.0, up from 59.7.

The weekly retail same-store sales data also arrives on Tuesday, this time for the week ended April 27. Last week, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) showed a week-to-week sales increase of 0.8%, versus the 1.1% decrease the week before. On a year-to-year basis, sales were higher by 1.9%, versus the 2.0% increase in the prior week. The data may have been affected by the events in Boston.

State Street’s (NYST: STT) Investor Confidence Index is due for report at 10:00 AM ET. Last month, the data showed institutional investors soured globally (index down 3.4 points). U.S. investors mostly drove the move, as the North American Index dropped 4.2 points.

At 3:00 PM, catch the Farm Report covering agricultural goods prices.

Secretary of State Kerry will present to Congress a list of countries designated as state sponsors of terror.

In corporate news, Needham’s healthcare conference offers presentations by Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD) and Durata Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DRTX). Barclay’s (NYSE: BCS) Retail & Consumer Discretionary Conference highlights presentations by Macy’s (NYSE: M) and Coach (NYSE: COH). Look for earnings news from Aetna (NYSE: AET), Avon Products (NYSE: AVP), McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN), NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI), AGL Resources (NYSE: GAS), Avalonbay Communities (NYSE: AVB), Cummins (NYSE: CMI), Ecolab (NYSE: ECL), Edison Int’l (NYSE: EIX), Ensco (NYSE: ESV), Fidelity National (NYSE: FIS), Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV), FMC (NYSE: FMC), Genworth (NYSE: GNW), Harris (NYSE: HRS), Hudson City Bancorp (Nasdaq: HCBK), Invesco (NYSE: IVZ), Legg Mason (NYSE: LM), Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC), MeadWestVaco (NYSE: MWV), NiSource (NYSE: NI), NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX), ONEOK (NYSE: OKE), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Public Service Enterprise (NYSE: PEG), QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP), Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT), TECO Energy (NYSE: TE), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC), United States Steel (NYSE: X), Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO), Western Union (NYSE: WU), Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC), Xylem (NYSE: XYL) and more.

Wednesday

It’s Fed day, with the FOMC Monetary Policy Statement due for report at 2:00 PM ET. Economists and yours truly expect no change in monetary policy. Investors will turn their attention to any change in wording that might indicate the Fed’s forward path and timeline. The quarterly Treasury Refunding Announcement is due today as well. The Treasury Department will announce its funding needs and plans for the next several months. An SEC advisory panel will hold a meeting to discuss topics about small and emerging companies.

ADP’s Private Employment Report for April is expected to show private nonfarm payrolls increased by 155K, versus last month’s 158K estimate. Economists expect private nonfarm payrolls, as reported by the government on Friday, to show an increase of 175K jobs, versus the 95K reported last month.

We have two manufacturing indicators due today, with the Markit Economics PMI Manufacturing Index and the ISM Manufacturing Index scheduled. The PMI Manufacturing Index is first up at 8:58 AM ET. Economists expect the index to stay at 52.0 in April, after its Flash reading at that mark, which was down from 54.6 at the end of March. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) issues its Manufacturing Report on Business for the month of April at 10:00 AM. Economists see this index slipping to a mark of 51.0, from 51.3 the month before. FYI – that reading marked a deep drop from February’s reading of 54.2.

Monthly Construction Spending data is due for report at 10:00 AM ET. While construction spending has been growing regularly for some time now, over the last three months, the pace seems to be showing a slowing of it. Economists expect an increase of 0.6% in March, after February’s increase of 1.2%.

The latest mortgage activity data arrives from the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday before the market open. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 19 showed mortgage applications increased by 0.2%, after rising 4.8% the week before. Applications tied to the purchases of homes increased by 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis to its highest level since May of 2010. The Refinance Index increased by 0.3%, after rising 5.0% the week before. Effective interest rate changes were mixed.

Look for the EIA’s regular Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 AM ET. Last week’s report covering the week ending April 19 showed crude oil inventory increased by 0.9 million barrels, and remained well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventory decreased by 3.9 million barrels and remained in the upper half of the average range.

May Day means markets across the world will be closed, including in Hong Kong, Brazil, Germany and Russia, but not in the U.S.

Automakers will report Monthly Motor Vehicle Sales for the month of April today. Economists expect the annual pace of domestic vehicle sales ran at 12.0 million in April, down from 12.1 million in March. Total vehicle sales are expected to have matched last month’s 15.3 million pace.

The Barclay’s (NYSE: BCS) Retail and Consumer Discretionary Conference offers presentations by Dunkin’ Brands (Nasdaq: DNKN) and Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) Wednesday. BB&T (NYSE: BBT) and DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) have investor meetings scheduled today. Kodak expects a bankruptcy court to allow it to sell off some assets.

The EPS schedule highlights reports from Facebook (NYSE: FB), ADT Corp. (NYSE: ADT), Allstate (NYSE: ALL), American Tower (NYSE: AMT), Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) (NYSE: CCV), Coventry Health (NYSE: CVH), Delphi Automotive (Nasdaq: DLPH), Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), Exelon (NYSE: EXC), Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN), Hospira (NYSE: HSP), Humana (NYSE: HUM), Integrys Energy (NYSE: TEG), Intercontintental Exchange (NYSE: ICE), Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM), JDS Uniphase (Nasdaq: JDSU), Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC), Marriott International (NYSE: MAR), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Metlife (NYSE: MET), Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR), Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD), Prudential (NYSE: PRU), Rowan (NYSE: RDC), Seagate (NYSE: STX), Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE), Tesoro (NYSE: TSO), The Clorox (NYSE: CLX), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Unum (NYSE: UNM), Viacom (Nasdaq: VIAB), Visa (NYSE: V) and Yelp (Nasdaq: YELP).

Thursday

Several economic reports litter the day’s schedule today, including a few more labor market data points. Important information emanates from overseas Thursday, with the critical European Central Bank monetary policy decision on tap. Many suspect the ECB could cut rates given recent economic data. Also, the European Commission (EC) is due to provide its spring forecasts for EU states.

The Challenger Job-Cut Report reaches the wire in the premarket Thursday. The measure of announced corporate layoffs showed 49,255 of them in March and 55,356 of them in February.

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims is due for report at 8:30. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 20 showed weekly claims decreased by 16K, to 339K. Economists see claims rising to 345K this week. The weekly jobless claims four-week moving average declined by 4,500 last week, falling to 357,500.

Nonfarm Productivity and Costs data will be reported for the first quarter at 8:30 AM ET Thursday. Economists see productivity improved by 1.3% in the quarter, after it contracted in the fourth quarter by 1.9%. Unit Labor Costs are expected to increase by 0.1% after increasing 4.6% in Q4.

The International Trade Report for the month of March is expected to show the trade deficit contracted to $42.4 billion, from $43.0 billion the month before. In February, exports rose 0.8% while imports were relatively unchanged. Both export and import activity has dulled since recovering post the crisis and recession.

After shooting up 4.8 points the week before, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, a weekly measure of the consumer mood, eased 0.7 points last week, reaching a mark of -29.9. I expect the index to revisit lower levels before long. Consumers are not generally in a good mood today, as was evidenced by the recent drops seen in the Conference Board and University of Michigan monthly measures.

The EIA’s Natural Gas Report is due Thursday at 10:30 AM. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 19 showed working gas in storage increased by 30 Bcf. Stocks were 807 Bcf less than last year at this time and 94 Bcf below the five-year average for this time of year.

Look for investor meetings at Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH), DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Strayer Education (Nasdaq: STRA). BioAmber, an alternative energy company, has its IPO planned and QIWI will do the same. The EPS slate highlights presentations by LinkedIn (Nasdaq: LNKD), American International Group (NYSE: AIG), Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), International Paper (NYSE: IP), Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC), Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), Cigna (NYSE: CI), Actavis (NYSE: ACT), Airgas (NYSE: ARG), Ameren (NYSE: AEE), Beam (Nasdaq: BEAM), CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP), CME Group (NYSE: CME), Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR), Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB), Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL), Fluor (NYSE: FLR), Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD), Harman Int’l (NYSE: HAR), Kellogg (NYSE: K), Kraft Foods (Nasdaq: KRFT), Microchip Technology (Nasdaq: MCHP), Mylan (NYSE: MYL), Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU), PG&E (NYSE: PCG), PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL), Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR), Scripps Networks (NYSE: SNI), Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN), Teradata (NYSE: TDC), Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC), WPX Energy (NYSE: WPX), Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL), XL Group (NYSE: XL), ZAGG (Nasdaq: ZAGG) and more.

Friday

This day will be all about the monthly Employment Situation Report for April. Nonfarm Payrolls are expected to be up by 153K this month, after only increasing by 88K in March. Private Nonfarm Payrolls are seen higher by 175K this month, versus the 95K increase last month. The Unemployment Rate is expected to stay at 7.6%. Average Hourly Earnings is expected higher by 0.2%, after being unchanged in March. The Average Workweek is expected to hold at 34.6 hours.

Factory Orders are due for report at 10:00 AM. The data for March is expected to show factor orders declined by 2.8%, after marking a 3.0% increase in February. That would be consistent with the trend seen across manufacturing data points recently.

After reporting its manufacturing data a few days prior, ISM will publish its Nonmanufacturing Report on Business today at 10:00 AM. ISM’s service segment index is expected to fall to 54.0 in April, from 54.4 in March.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) publishes the minutes of its blockbuster April meeting today.

Look for Fed speak from Richmond Fed President Lacker and Fed Governor Tarullo today.

The corporate wire has the earnings of ADP (NYSE: ADP), Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), Moody’s (NYSE: MCO), Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL), Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM), Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE: PNW), Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE), The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) and a few more.

See also our daily market previews and our regular economic and stock analysis from our expert founder.

You might also enjoy some of our recent work including:
Is this Security a Safe Haven?

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

I Told You So!!!

No reader of Wall Street Greek should be surprised today, because we warned investors that economists’ and Fed forecasts of GDP were grossly in error. Today, the Q1 GDP result proved short of expectations, and I expect this will mark a turn in trading for stocks. In Q1, stocks rose in double-digits; in April, we’re about unchanged or fractionally higher; in May, we will head lower as the truth about this economy begins to sink in. All I can say is I told you so. Tell your friends about us, because we’ve been correct far too often for far too long to continue to fly so far below the radar.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Economic Events

First Quarter GDP will be reported for the first time at 8:30 AM ET. Economists’ expectations may be overstated and mislead there by the Federal Reserve and its recent economic forecasts. After reviewing the March update of the Fed forecasts, we noted that the Fed’s Math Just Doesn’t Add Up. You might also enjoy our more cynical blog discussion on the topic here – The Fed’s Funny Math. Economists are still looking for about the same growth that the Fed is, with the Q1 consensus forecast set for growth of 3.1%. That would compare against the fourth quarter of 2012 growth of just 0.4%. While economic activity did pick up at the start of the year, it was mostly on hope and prayers and not substantial support from the U.S. government, American consumers, or from international demand. The reality is that the payroll tax break expiration and the Sequester spending cuts have had a meaningful impact upon our economy, along with the heavy weight of Europe. I’m looking for a gross failure this year with regard to economists’ expectations and what reality will unfold. The range of economist expectations extends from 2.3% growth to 3.3% for Q1.

At 9:55 AM, catch the Reuters / University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. When last reported, this index marked a precipitous decline in the consumer mood. I believe the mood changed for the worse after high expectations were built following the U.S. government stumble through the debt ceiling and fiscal cliff issues; those expectations were met by the reality of higher taxes in a still vulnerable economy. This latest reading is expected to show the index at 73.0, up slightly from the recent reading of 72.3. See the bottom of this article for an important economic discussion on this consumer topic.

Overseas Markets

EUROPE	9:20 AM ET	ASIA/PACIFIC	CLOSE
EURO STOXX 50	-0.7%	NIKKEI 225	-0.3%
German DAX	-0.3%	Hang Seng	+0.6%
CAC 40	-0.6%	S&P/ASX 200	-0.1%
FTSE 100	-0.4%	Korean KOSPI	-0.4%
Greek ASE	-0.5%	BSE India SENSEX	-0.6%

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to release its semi-annual forecast on economic growth and consumer price trends on Friday.

Commodity Markets (9:30 AM ET)

WTI Crude	-0.5%
Brent Crude	-0.4%
RBOB Gasoline	-0.5%
NYMEX Natural Gas	+0.1%
Gold Spot	+0.1%
Silver Spot	-1.0%
COMEX Copper	-0.8%
CBOT Corn	-0.8%
CBOT Wheat	-1.0%
CBOT Soybeans	-0.4%
ICE Sugar	+0.1%
ICE Cocoa	0.00%
ICE Orange Juice Conc.	-1.1%
CME Live Cattle	+0.0%

Corporate Events

The corporate wire has the earnings of Tyco International (NYSE: TYC), Covidien (NYSE: COV), Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Aon (NYSE: AON), Goodyear (NYSE: GT), AbbVie (Nasdaq: ABBV), ACCO Brands (Nasdaq: ACCO), Alliance Holdings (Nasdaq: AHGP), Alliance Resource Partners (Nasdaq: ARLP), Altra Holdings (Nasdaq: AIMC), Amcol Int’l (NYSE: ACO), American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Autoliv (NYSE: ALV), Barnes Group (NYSE: B), Beasley Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: BBGI), Berry Petroleum (NYSE: BRY), Bridgford Foods (Nasdaq: BRID), Bryn Mawr Bank (Nasdaq: BMTC), Burger King Worldwide (NYSE: BKW), Camelot Info (NYSE: CIS), Central Pacific Fin’l (NYSE: CPF), Cobra Electronics (Nasdaq: COBR), Community Bankers Trust (Nasdaq: ESXB), Corporate Office Properties (NYSE: OFC), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR), Dresser-Rand (NYSE: DRC), DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), First Financial (Nasdaq: THFF), First United (Nasdaq: FUNC), FLIR Systems (Nasdaq: FLIR), Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI), GNC Holdings (NYSE: GNC), HMS Holdings (Nasdaq: HMSY), Immunogen (Nasdaq: IMGN), iParty (NYSE: IPT), Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI), Lazard (NYSE: LAZ), LifePoint Hospitals (Nasdaq: LPNT), LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL), Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE: OPY), Provident Financial Services (NYSE: PFS), Saia (Nasdaq: SAIA), SCBT Financial (Nasdaq: SCBT), Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), Tompkins Financial (NYSE: TMP), Ventas (NYSE: VTR), VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC), Viad (NYSE: VVI), Westmoreland Coal (NYSE: WLB), WisdomTree Investments (Nasdaq: WETF) and more.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

The NFL Draft Beats This

Tonight’s 8:00 PM ET NFL Draft in prime time is more exciting than this news today for most of you. But find all your important economic, commodity, overseas and corporate news here anyway. My Eagles have the fourth pick tonight, and I’m hoping the NFL's hottest new coach Chip Kelly picks up some offensive line help or trades for an excellent defensive back. As for stocks, 3M (MMM) disappointed and Amazon.com (AMZN) reports this evening, but who cares! It's draft day.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Economic Events

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims is due for report at 8:30. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 13 showed weekly claims rose by 4K, to 352K. The four-week moving average for jobless claims rose 2,750 to 361,250. Economists see claims at about the same level this week, as is usually the case. It’s tough to predict much change in such a regularly reported economic data point.

After stabilizing recently, Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index, a weekly measure of the consumer mood, shot higher by 4.8 points last week, reaching a mark of -29.2. It’s not very often that this indicator moves so much, and so I expect the change was due to an anomaly and could correct this week. Consumers are not generally in a good mood today, as was evidenced by the recent drops seen in the Conference Board and University of Michigan monthly measures.

The Kansas City Fed’s Manufacturing Survey is up for report at 11:00 AM Thursday morning. The KC Fed’s Index is expected by economists to continue to show regional contraction, though less of it in April, with the consensus forecast set for a reading of -1.0, better than March’s -5.0.

Commodity Markets (10:35 AM ET)

WTI Crude	+0.3%
Brent Crude	+0.5%
RBOB Gasoline	+1.0%
NYMEX Natural Gas	+0.5%
Gold Spot	+1.4%
Silver Spot	+2.8%
COMEX Copper	+2.8%
CBOT Corn	+0.6%
CBOT Wheat	+0.9%
CBOT Soybeans	+1.7%
ICE Sugar	-0.3%
ICE Cocoa	+0.9%
ICE Orange Juice Conc.	0.00%
CME Live Cattle	0.00%

The EIA’s Natural Gas Report is due Thursday at 10:30 AM. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 12 showed working gas in storage increased by 31 Bcf. Stocks were 794 Bcf less than last year at this time and 74 Bcf below the five-year average for this time of year.

Overseas Markets

EUROPE	10:40 AM ET	ASIA/PACIFIC	CLOSE
EURO STOXX 50	+0.1%	NIKKEI 225	+0.6%
German DAX	+0.8%	Hang Seng	+1.0%
CAC 40	0.00%	S&P/ASX 200	+1.7%
FTSE 100	+0.2%	Korean KOSPI	+0.8%
Greek ASE	+2.1%	BSE India SENSEX	+1.2%

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the foolish figurehead who said Cyprus would be a template for all future bailouts, addresses the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee.

Corporate Events

The corporate wire has Charles Schwab’s (Nasdaq: SCHW) interim business update for institutional investors. Reader’s Digest is in bankruptcy court.

The EPS slate highlights presentations by Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR), Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN), Safeway (NYSE: SWY), 3M (NYSE: MMM), A.T. Cross (NYSE: ATX), Abaxis (Nasdaq: ABAX), Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN), Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR), Altisource Portfolio (Nasdaq: ASPS), Altria Group (NYSE: MO), AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), Ametek (NYSE: AME), Amkor Technology (Nasdaq: AMKR), Applied Micro Circuits (Nasdaq: AMCC), Avnet (NYSE: AVT), Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), Bemis (NYSE: BMS), Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB), BJ’s Restaurants (Nasdaq: BJRI), BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA), Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), Box Ships (NYSE: TEU), Bridge Capital (Nasdaq: BBNK), Brink’s (NYSE: BCO), Brunswick (NYSE: BC), Builder’s FirstSource (Nasdaq: BLDR), Cabela’s (NYSE: CAB), Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY), Cameron Int’l (NYSE: CAM), CARBO Ceramics (NYSE: CRR), Carpenter Technology (NYSE: CRS), Cash America (NYSE: CSH), CBRE Group (NYSE: CBG), Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG), Chubb (NYSE: CB), Cincinnati Financial (Nasdaq: CINF), Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS), Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR), CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Columbia Sportswear (Nasdaq: COLM), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX), Constant Contact (Nasdaq: CTCT), CRA Int’l (Nasdaq: CRAI), Dana Holding (NYSE: DAN), Decker Outdoors (Nasdaq: DECK), Deluxe (NYSE: DLX), Destination Maternity (Nasdaq: DEST), Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO), Dominion Resources (NYSE: D), Dover Downs (NYSE: DDE), Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), Dunkin Brands (Nasdaq: DNKN), Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN), Ehealth (Nasdaq: EHTH), EMCOR (NYSE: EME), Entergy (NYSE: ETR), EQT (NYSE: EQT), Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Federated Investors (NYSE: FII), Geron (Nasdaq: GERN), Global Geophysical (NYSE: GGS), Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG), HealthSouth (NYSE: HLS), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq: HERO), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Huron Consulting (Nasdaq: HURN), Iberiabank (Nasdaq: IBKC), Ikanos Communications (Nasdaq: IKAN), Intermolecular (NYSE: IMI), Invacare (NYSE: IVC), International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), ITT Educational (NYSE: ESI), JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq: JAKK), JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU), KBR (NYSE: KBR), Kennametal (NYSE: KMT), KKR (NYSE: KKR), KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC), L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL), Lear (NYSE: LEA), Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG), Libbey (NYSE: LBY), MarineMax (NYSE: HZO), Maxim Integrated (Nasdaq: MXIM), MBT Financial (Nasdaq: MBTF), McClatchy (NYSE: MNI), Mead Johnson (NYSE: MJN), MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS), MICROS Systems (Nasdaq: MCRS), Navigant Consulting (NYSE: NCI), Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM), Netgear (Nasdaq: NTGR), NetSuite (NYSE: N), Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL), Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Paragon Shipping (Nasdaq: PRGN), Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH), Patterson-UTI Energy (Nasdaq: PTEN), PerkinElmer (NYSE: PKI), Pixelworks (Nasdaq: PXLW), PMC-Sierra (Nasdaq: PMCS), Principal Financial Group (NYSE: PFG), Provident Financial (Nasdaq: PROV), Range Resources (NYSE: RRC), Rayonier (NYSE: RYN), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), Republic Services (NYSE: RSG), Revlon (NYSE: REV), Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), R.R. Donnelley (NYSE: RRD), Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE), SCANA (NYSE: SCG), Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL), Silicon Motion (Nasdaq: SIMO), Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq: SWKS), Sonic Foundry (Nasdaq: SOFO), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX), Suncoke Energy (NYSE: SXC), Superior Energy (NYSE: SPN), Supreme Industries (NYSE: STS), SVB Financial (Nasdaq: SIVB), Taser Int’l (Nasdaq: TASR), Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Trinity Biotech (Nasdaq: TRIB), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), United Therapeutics (Nasdaq: UTHR), VCA Antech (Nasdaq: WOOF), Verisign (Nasdaq: VRSN), VistaPrint (Nasdaq: VPRT), Websense (Nasdaq: WBSN), World Acceptance (Nasdaq: WRLD), Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN), Yandex (Nasdaq: YNDX), Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) and more.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Lacking Wow Factor

A day after the Twitter account hack of the Associated Press caused a four minute stock market crash, all we have to look forward to is the Champion's League semi-final match schedule. A poor Durable Goods Orders data-point is certainly weighing Wednesday, but Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) lack of wow factor and other corporate earnings reports have the market mixed and relatively unchanged to start the day. Find all the day’s economic data, corporate events and other business news herein.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Economic Events

Durable Goods Orders will be reported for the month of March on Wednesday at 10:00 AM ET. This is a volatile measure and a difficult one for economists to peg, because of the high ticket price of durable goods. For this reason, the data comes with and without the especially high-priced transportation segment data. Economists expect durable goods orders to show 2.8% lower for March, after February’s climb of 5.7%. Excluding transportation, though, durables are expected to just inch up by 0.5%, after falling 0.5% last month.

The latest mortgage activity data arrives from the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday before the market open. Last week’s report covering the period ending April 12 showed mortgage applications increased by 4.8%, after rising 4.5% the week before. Applications tied to the purchases of homes increased by 4.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis to its highest level since May of 2012. The Refinance Index increased by 5.0%, after rising 6.0% the week before. Effective interest rates mostly fell or stayed low in the period and the weather is improving and supporting the spring season as well.

Washington D.C. will play a role in trade today, with three significant events. The Joint Economic Committee is holding a hearing on the issue of long-term unemployment. Meanwhile, the House Financial Services Committee is having a hearing on housing finance and the regulatory impediments to private investment capital. Also, the Independent Community Bankers of America has their annual Washington Policy Summit today and tomorrow.

Commodity Markets (9:07 AM ET)

WTI Crude	+0.4%
Brent Crude	+0.4%
RBOB Gasoline	-0.3%
NYMEX Natural Gas	+0.2%
Gold Spot	+1.2%
Silver Spot	+1.0%
COMEX Copper	+1.8%
CBOT Corn	+0.3%
CBOT Wheat	+0.1%
CBOT Soybeans	+0.0%
ICE Sugar	-0.4%
ICE Cocoa	+0.4%
ICE Orange Juice Conc.	+0.8%
CME Live Cattle	+0.5%

Look for the EIA’s regular Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 AM ET. Last week’s report covering the week ending April 12 showed crude oil inventory decreased by 1.2 million barrels, and remained well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventory decreased by 0.6 million barrels and are now above the upper limit of the average range.

Overseas Markets

EUROPE	9:30 AM	ASIA/PACIFIC	CLOSE
EURO STOXX 50	+0.7%	NIKKEI 225	+2.3%
German DAX	+0.7%	Hang Seng	+1.7%
CAC 40	+0.9%	S&P/ASX 200	+1.7%
FTSE 100	+0.3%	Korean KOSPI	+0.9%
Greek ASE	+0.6%	BSE India SENSEX	+0.0%

Asia is higher, likely on yesterday’s driver of Europe and the U.S., the hope that poor data will drive the ECB to act in a more dovish manner. Europe is higher despite more weak data out of Germany. Australian and Indian markets are closed Wednesday.

Corporate Events

In corporate news, the Bakken Investor Conference kicks off in Minot, North Dakota. General Electric (NYSE: GE), which reported last Friday and sank 4.0% on that day, has its annual shareholder meeting. Commerzbank (OTC: CRZBY.PK) is executing a 1-for-10 reverse split.

The EPS schedule highlights reports from Boeing (NYSE: BA), EMC (NYSE: EMC), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Xilinx (Nasdaq: XLNX), EMC (NYSE: EMC), Aflac (NYSE: AFL), Agenus (Nasdaq: AGEN), Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM), Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI), Allegiant Travel (Nasdaq: ALGT), Allied World Assurance (NYSE: AWH), American Railcar (Nasdaq: ARII), Angie’s List (Nasdaq: ANGI), Arris Enterprises (Nasdaq: ARRS), Asbury Automotive (NYSE: ABG), Ashland (NYSE: ASH), Aspen Insurance (NYSE: AHL), Assurant (NYSE: AIZ), ATMI (Nasdaq: ATMI), Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY), Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD), Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN), BroadVision (Nasdaq: BVSN), Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG), Cadence Design (Nasdaq: CDNS), Carlisle Cos. (NYSE: CSL), China Ceramics (Nasdaq: CCCL), Churchill Downs (Nasdaq: CHDN), Citrix Systems (Nasdaq: CTXS), Clicksoftware (Nasdaq: CKSW), Cliff’s Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), Coherent (Nasdaq: COHR), Corelogic (Nasdaq: CLGX), Corning (NYSE: GLW), Costamare (Nasdaq: CMRE), CoStar Group (Nasdaq: CSGP), Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX), Crown Castle Int’l (NYSE: CCI), Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE: CFR), Daimler (OTC: DDAIF.PK), Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC), Euronet Worldwide (Nasdaq: EEFT), Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR), F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV), Fair Isaac (Nasdaq: FICO), Famous Dave’s of America (Nasdaq: DAVE), Federal-Mogul (Nasdaq: FDML), Flowserve (NYSE: FLS), Fox Chase Bancorp (Nasdaq: FXCB), Ford (NYSE: F), Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Hess (NYSE: HES), Iconix Brand (Nasdaq: ICON), InterMune (Nasdaq: ITMN), International Shipping (NYSE: ISH), Jarden (NYSE: JAH), Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX), Lam Research (Nasdaq: LRCX), Lender Processing (NYSE: LPS), Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD), Lorillard (NYSE: LO), LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI), Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL), Marine Products (NYSE: MPX), MarketAxess (Nasdaq: MKTX), Mastech (NYSE: MHH), Mattson Technology (Nasdaq: MTSN), Media General (NYSE: MEG), Mellanox (Nasdaq: MLNX), Mine Safety (NYSE: MSA), Montpelier Re (NYSE: MRH), MorningStar (Nasdaq: MORN), Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI), NASDAQ OMX (Nasdaq: NDAQ), New Oriental Education (NYSE: EDU), New York Community Bancorp (Nasdaq: NYCB), Newmarket (NYSE: NEU), Ninetowns Internet Technology (Nasdaq: NINE), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), NuStar Energy (NYSE: NS), O’Reilly Automotive (Nasdaq: ORLY), Oil States Int’l (NYSE: OIS), Omnicare (NYSE: OCR), On Assignment (Nasdaq: ASGN), OSI Systems (Nasdaq: OSIS), Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), Pacer Int’l (Nasdaq: PACR), PetroLogistics (NYSE: PDH), Praxair (NYSE: PX), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Radcom (Nasdaq: RDCM), Raymond James Fin’l (NYSE: RJF), Rimage (Nasdaq: RIMG), Rollins (NYSE: ROL), Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK), SEI Investments (Nasdaq: SEIC), Service Corp. (NYSE: SCI), Silicon Laboratories (Nasdaq: SLAB), Southern (NYSE: SO), Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP), Steiner Leisure (Nasdaq: STNR), Sterling Financial (Nasdaq: STSA), Stericycle (Nasdaq: SRCL), Streamline Health (Nasdaq: STRM), Stryker (NYSE: SYK), Sun Bancorp (Nasdaq: SNBC), Supervalue (NYSE: SVU), Susquehanna Bancshares (Nasdaq: SUSQ), TC Pipelines (NYSE: TCP), T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq: TROW), TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL), Teladyne (NYSE: TDY), Teradyne (NYSE: TER), Terex (NYSE: TEX), The Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE), The Medicines Co. (Nasdaq: MDCO), Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO), Timken (NYSE: TKR), Titan Int’l (NYSE: TWI), Tractor Supply (Nasdaq: TSCO), TriQuint Semiconductor (Nasdaq: TQNT), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Tupperware (NYSE: TUP), Tyler Tech (NYSE: TYL), Unitil (NYSE: UTL), USG (NYSE: USG), Varian Medical (NYSE: VAR), VirginMedia (Nasdaq: VMED), W.R. Grace (NYSE: GRA), Waste Management (NYSE: WM), WellPoint (NYSE: WLP), Western Digital (NYSE: WDC), Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR), Windham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN), Xenoport (Nasdaq: XNPT) and Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA).

See also our latest write-ups published elsewhere:

Recession Watch: Alarming Data from Overseas
Deterioration in Europe Could Impact Alcatel-Lucent


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