State of Union speech, earnings data expected
Wall Street faces another busy week with a passel of major earnings reports, and investors will also be watching for any surprises that might unfold in Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
Earnings probably will command most of investors’ attention as Wall Street debates whether profit growth will hold up and searches for signs of a larger slowdown that could prompt a reduction in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Results from scores of big companies such as American Express, Ford Motor and Microsoft are expected and probably will overshadow a comparatively light economic calendar.
Although earnings figures are expected to dominate, politics could play a larger-than-normal role in the coming week. On Tuesday, President Bush’s State of the Union speech is expected to touch on new efforts to curb global warming.
Although the White House has come out against mandatory caps in emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, the business world could look for signals that increased regulation is in store.
The speech could also hit on a variety of topics that affect business, including taxes and healthcare.
The intersection of business and government will again be in focus Wednesday when power brokers from businesses, governments and nonprofits gather for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Bold-faced names expected to attend from the business world include Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Citigroup Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince.
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The week ahead
Today
* Treasury bill auction.
* Senate takes up minimum-wage legislation.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from American Express, CSX, Pfizer and Texas Instruments.
Tuesday
* President Bush delivers State of the Union address.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Advanced Micro Devices, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo, Bank of America, Burlington Northern Santa Fe; DuPont, EMC, Johnson & Johnson, UAL, United Technologies, Wachovia and Xerox.
Wednesday
* World Economic Forum opens its annual conference in Davos, Switzerland.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from EBay, Netflix, Qualcomm, Abbott Laboratories, Cingular Wireless, ConocoPhillips, Corning, General Dynamics, Hershey, McDonald’s and Norfolk Southern.
Thursday
* Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims.
* National Assn. of Realtors reports on existing-home sales for December.
* Freddie Mac reports on mortgage rates.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Amgen, Occidental Petroleum, NCR, Alaska Air Group, AT&T;, Baxter International, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dow Chemical, Dow Jones, Ford Motor, Kimberly-Clark, Lear, Lockheed Martin, McKesson, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Southern and Union Pacific.
Friday
* Commerce Department reports on durable goods orders and new-home sales for December.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Caterpillar, Halliburton and Honeywell International.
