This Week: A Shift in the Balance of Power

Look for a shift in the balance of power this week, as the attention slides away from Russia and the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine to the monthly Employment Situation Report. Market players will be closely following the critical data point, looking for signs of spring green shoots. Economist expectations are for a better report, but the result had better be better or else stocks could tank to close the week. If the result is even in line, stocks could find new steam to run higher. At the bottom of this article, please find other articles we’ve authored recently on specific investments and the market and geopolitical happenings. If you found this report valuable, please do follow this blog to receive it regularly.

Weekly Stock Market Planner

Security	2014	Last 12 Mos.
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	+1.3%	+19.4%
SPDR Dow Jones (NYSE: DIA)	-0.7%	-19.6%
PowerShares QQQ (Nasdaq: QQQ)	-0.3%	+27.1%
SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD)	+6.5%	-20.0%
iPath S&P Crude Oil (NYSE: OIL)	+3.7%	+5.3%
PIMCO Total Return (Nasdaq: BOND)	+1.8%	-2.8%
PowerShares DB US $ Bullish (NYSE: UUP)	-0.3%	-5.0%

The Ukraine Crisis, or the new one regarding the buildup of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, seems to have been relieved. I say “seems” because looks can be deceiving, especially when we are dealing with Vladimir Putin. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry demanded Russian troops pull away from intimidating positions along the border for negotiations to begin. It seems there may be something Putin wants that is being offered, because Monday one Russian battalion was called off. The Ukrainians are saying it’s just a repositioning, and it appears the troops have simply pulled back off the border. Before long, we may see a full scale invasion of Ukraine, but for now, it appears investors will focus on the economic data.

Economic Events

THIS WEEK’S ECONOMIC REPORT SCHEDULE
Economic Data Point	Prior	Expected	Actual
MONDAY
Chicago PMI	59.8	59.0	55.9
Texas Manufacturing Outlook	0.3	3.0	4.9
Yellen Speaks
TUESDAY
ISM Manufacturing	53.2	54.0
PMI Manufacturing	57.1	56.8
Motor Vehicle Sales	15.3M	15.8M
-Domestic Sales Only	12.2M	12.4M
Construction Spending	0.1%	0.1%
ICSC Weekly Store Sales	-1.5%
-Year-to-Year Pace	+1.7%
Redbook Store Sales	+3.1%
Gallup US ECI
WEDNESDAY
ADP Employment Report	+139K	+193K
Factory Orders	-0.7%	+1.2%
Gallup US Job Creation Index
Mortgage Activity	-3.5%
EIA Petroleum Status
-Crude Oil Inventory	+6.6MB
-Gasoline Inventory	-5.1MB
Lockhart Speaks
Bullard Speaks
THURSDAY
ECB Monetary Policy
BOE Monetary Policy
International Trade	-$39.1B	-$38.8B
ISM Non-Manufacturing	51.6	53.3
PMI Services Index	53.3	53.9
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort	-31.5
EIA Natural Gas Report	-57 Bcf
Challenger Job-Cut Report	41,835
Weekly Jobless Claims	311K	320K
Gallup US Payroll to Population
FRIDAY
Employment Situation Report
-Nonfarm Payrolls	175K	206K
-Private Payrolls	162K	215K
-Unemployment Rate	6.7%	6.6%

• Bold signifies actual results on Monday, versus expectations otherwise

Janet Yellen set a nice mood Monday when she offered about the most dovish statement she could have. It’s sad actually how accommodative the Fed Chair is being to satisfy market concerns. Investors should be grown up enough at this point to understand that rates will eventually rise on an improving economy, which is what we want to see.

Corporate Events

The quarter is closing and a new one is opening, and with it will come earnings season. However, this week will not be very busy in that regard. See the full list below.

HIGHLIGHTED EPS REPORTS
Company	Ticker
MONDAY
Accretive Health	Nasdaq: ACHI
American DG Energy	Nasdaq: ADGE
American Lorain	NYSE: ALN
American Shared Hospital Svcs	NYSE: AMS
American Spectrum Realty	NYSE: AQQ
ASA Gold & Precious Metals	NYSE: ASA
Asure Software	Nasdaq: ASUR
BBX Capital	NYSE: BBX
BioFuel Energy	Nasdaq: BIOF
BKF Capital Group	Nasdaq: BKFG
Blonder Tongue Laboratories	NYSE: BDR
Blount International	NYSE: BLT
Bona Film Group	Nasdaq: BONA
BOS Better Online Solutions	Nasdaq: BOSC
Bovie Medical	NYSE: BVX
Cal-Maine Foods	Nasdaq: CALM
Central Federal	Nasdaq: CFBK
Century Casinos	Nasdaq: CNTY
China Auto Logistics	Nasdaq: CALI
China Housing & Land	Nasdaq: CHLN
Communication Intelligence	Nasdaq: CICI
Flexible Solutions	NYSE: FSI
Gas Natural	Nasdaq: EGAS
GenCorp	NYSE: GY
GeoMet	Nasdaq: GMET
Global Partners	NYSE: GLP
Hooper Holmes	NYSE: HH
iGO	Nasdaq: IGOI
InterOil	NYSE: IOC
Ixia	Nasdaq: XXIA
JGWPT Holdings	NYSE: JGW
Kayne Anderson MLP	NYSE: KYN
Kingstone Cos.	Nasdaq: KINS
Lattice	Nasdaq: LTTC
LGI Homes	Nasdaq: LGIH
Lifeway Foods	Nasdaq: LWAY
MFC Industrial	NYSE: MIL
MMR Global	Nasdaq: MMRF
New Concept Energy	NYSE: GBR
Ocean Bio-Chem	Nasdaq: OBCI
Optibase	Nasdaq: OBAS
Phoenix Cos.	NYSE: PNX
PTGi Holding	Nasdaq: PTGI
Pyramid Oil	NYSE: PDO
Real Goods Solar	Nasdaq: RGSE
RMG Networks	Nasdaq: RMGN
Rosetta Genomics	Nasdaq: ROSG
RSP Permian	Nasdaq: RSPP
Saker Aviation Services	Nasdaq: SKAS
Scientific Learning	Nasdaq: SCIL
Siebert Financial	Nasdaq: SIEB
Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical	Nasdaq: SKBI
SPAR Group	Nasdaq: SGRP
Spine Pain Management	Nasdaq: SPIN
Stratus Properties	Nasdaq: STRS
Taxus Cardium Pharmaceuticals	Nasdaq: CRXM
Tech Data	Nasdaq: TECD
THT Heat Transfer	Nasdaq: THTI
Transcontinental Realty	NYSE: TCI
Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada	Nasdaq: TBUFF
ULURU	Nasdaq: ULUR
UniTek Global Services	Nasdaq: UNTK
UTi Worldwide	Nasdaq: UTIW
Verint Systems	Nasdaq: VRNT
WidePoint	NYSE: WYY
Wireless Telecom	NYSE: WTT
ZaZa Energy	Nasdaq: ZAZA
TUESDAY
Apollo Education	Nasdaq: APOL
Bridge Capital	Nasdaq: BBNK
Clearfield	Nasdaq: CLFD
Cytomedix	Nasdaq: CMXI
Dataram	Nasdaq: DRAM
Document Security Systems	NYSE: DSS
Dolan	Nasdaq: DOLNQ
La Jolla Pharmaceutical	Nasdaq: LJPC
Nortech Systems	Nasdaq: NSYS
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals	NYSE: NBY
Orient Paper	NYSE: ONP
Saratoga Resources	Nasdaq: SARA
Star Gas Partners	NYSE: SGU
Sunshine Heart	NYSE: SSH
Tat Technologies	Nasdaq: TATT
WEDNESDAY
Acuity Brands	NYSE: AYI
Mitcham Industries	Nasdaq: MIND
Monsanto	NYSE: MON
National American	Nasdaq: NAUH
OMNOVA Solutions	NYSE: OMN
Resources Connection	Nasdaq: RECN
Saba Software	Nasdaq: SABA
Texas Industries	NYSE: TXI
UniFirst	NYSE: UNF
THURSDAY
Edap Tms SA	Nasdaq: EDAP
Emmis Communications	Nasdaq: EMMS
Five Star Quality Care	NYSE: FVE
Franklin Covey	NYSE: FC
Global Payments	NYSE: GPN
MagnaChip Semiconductor	NYSE: MX
Micron Technology	NYSE: MU
Perry Ellis	Nasdaq: PERY
RPM International	NYSE: RPM
Schnitzer Steel Industries	Nasdaq: SCHN
SeaChange Int’l	Nasdaq: SEAC
SYNNEX	NYSE: SNX
The Greenbrier Cos.	NYSE: GBX
FRIDAY
AZZ Inc.	NYSE: AZZ
Carmax	NYSE: KMX
Synergy Resources	Nasdaq: SYRG

Other Reports of Interest:

S&P Long – Ask Yourself One Question, Do You Feel Lucky Punk?
U.S. Real Estate: All the News is Bad
Why Facebook is Falling – When to Buy (NYSE: FB)
Buy this Security to Protect Against Fresh Putin Aggression (NYSE: VXX)
Stocks Endangered by Fresh Putin Aggression
Why I Strongly Disagree with Goldman’s Bearish Gold Call (NYSE: GS)

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.