Tom Hanna's Lifestream

Investors will find lots of information packed into the holiday shortened week and it's even more packed with no major indicators due out until Tuesday. The first numbers due out are the Commerce Department's final 3rd quarter GDP and corporate crofits figures with a 0.5% drop in GDP expected. Aside from corporate profits, Tuesday will have one other big corporate oriented figure – the State Street Investor Confidence Index. This index, which measures the actual risk taking behavior of institutional portfolios, could help indicate if the market has actually bottomed or if we are in a sustained bear market rally – if the big boys are starting to move out of debt securities back into equities, it's a good sign. Tuesday will be a bit unusual in housing market news with the Existing Home Sales and New Home Sales being released on the same day by the National Association of Realtors and the Commerce Department. With mortgage rates hitting a 4 1/2 year low last week the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association [Wednesday] may show an increase in mortgage applications. If these indicators move in a positive direction in such a short period, it could be a powerful mover in lots of markets well outside housing and mortgage companies. Wednesday also brings two indicators that could be potential bright spots. Durable Goods Orders, specifically the nondefense capital goods orders, were one of the positive indicators in last week's Leading Index. Personal income and spending will probably be mixed, with spending down and income up, but the strong improvements in real disposable personal income have been a big potential starting point for an economic rebound.

Day / Date





Monday





Tuesday





Wednesday





Thursday





Friday







Indicators

Leading Index for Mexico from the Conference Board Leading Index for Australia from the Conference Board

Leading Index for Germany from the Conference Board 3rd Quarter GDP and Corporate Profits from the Commerce Department November Existing Home Sales from the National Association of Realtors November New Home Sales from the Commerce Department December Investor Confidence Index from State Street Associates Weekly Redbook Retail Index

November Durable Goods Orders from the Commerce Department November Personal income and outlays from the Commerce Department Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Petroleum Inventory Report and This Week in Petroleum from the Energy Information Administration Weekly Jobless Claims report from the Employment and Training Administration

Merry Christmas

Weekly Money Supply (M1 and M2) from the Federal Reserve

Treasury Auctions and Announcements

11 AM: 4-Week T-Bill Announcement 1 PM: 3-Month and 6- Month T-Bill Auctions 1 PM: 2-Year Treasury Note Auction

1 PM: 4-Week T-Bill Auction 1 PM: 5-Year Treasury Note Auction

11 AM: 3-Month and 6-Month T-Bill Announcements

None

None

*See more information on the Financial Roadmap series here. Earnings reports are companies of interest, NOT recommendations.

You're reading a post from Financial Options, hopefully in your feed reader and not on a scraper site. Click through for the original and more like it. Financial Roadmap: The Week Ahead December 22 to 26, 2008