Weekly Newsletter October 21st - October 27th

Current Events: Investors witnessed a considerably rocky week unfold in all three major U.S. indexes as various reports throughout the week painted vastly different outlooks on the future of the economy.

What to Look for This Week

Another big week kickoffs Monday for the U.S. financial markets as internet giant Yahoo! announces earnings. Investors will look to tech leader Apple and others within the sector for positive news and solidarity this week.

News Affecting the Markets

With just over two weeks left before the presidential election, investors will scrutinize the final presidential debate on Monday evening, and subsequent polls, in an effort to determine what policies and direction will the U.S. pursue in hopes of improving the economy.

Smart Investing

Investing in Gold and Silver: A direct-investment in gold and silver or in an index exchange traded fund of either can be a good investment in the right conditions. Such funds are an excellent means of diversifying a portfolio against risks. Gold can be a good protection against inflation because it retains and even gains value under many common circumstances. Gold mining companies often do well during bull markets. While silver is more volatile and cannot be relied upon to protect against inflation. Hedged ETFs for the most part are poor investments and must be traded on a short term basis. An individual should only put a percentage of his or her investment funds in such vehicles since they are often more volatile and less likely to preserve value.

Earnings for the Week

Monday: Caterpillar Inc (CAT), Celanese Corp (CE) {after the close}, Chimera Investment Corp (CIM), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc (FCX), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Health Management Associates Inc (HMA) {after the close}, Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), MGIC Investment Corp (MTG), Monster Worldwide Inc (MWW), Nielsen Holdings NV (NLSN), Peabody Energy Corp (BTU), Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH), SunTrust Banks Inc (STI), Swift Transportation Co (SWFT) {after the close}, Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) {after the close}, Veeco Instruments Inc (VECO) {after the close}, W. R. Berkley Corp (WRB) {after the close}, Western Digital Corp {after the close}, Yahoo! Inc (YHOO) {after the close}

Tuesday: 3M Co (MMM), ACE Limited (ACE) {after the close}, Aflac Inc (AFL) {after the close}, AK Steel Holding Corp (AKS), Ametek Inc (AME), Amgen Inc (AMGN) {after the close}, Chicago Bridge and Iron Company NV (CBI) {after the close}, CIT Group Inc (CIT), Coach Inc (COH), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co (DD), Facebook Inc (FB) {after the close}, FMC Technologies Inc (FTI) {after the close}, Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG), Illinois Tool Works Inc (ITW), Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR) {after the close}, Lexmark International Inc (LXK), Nabors Industries Ltd (NBR) {after the close}, Netflix Inc (NFLX) {after the close}, Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) {after the close}, Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) {after the close}, Prologis Inc (PLD), RadioShack Corp (RSH), Reynolds American Inc (RAI), Ryder System Inc (R), Tempur-Pedic International Inc (TPX) {after the close}, Total System Services Inc (TSS) {after the close}, United Parcel Service Inc (UPS), United Technologies Corp (UTX), VMware Inc (VMW) {after the close}, Whirlpool Corp (WHR), Xerox Corp (XRX)

Wednesday: Allegheny Technologies Inc (ATI), Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP) {after the close}, AT&T Inc (T), Boeing Co (BA), Boyd Gaming Corp (BYD), Brinker International Inc (EAT), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF) {after the close}, Corning Inc (GLW), Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL), Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS), Eli Lilly and Co (LLY), EMC Corp (EMC), Equifax Inc (EFX) {after the close}, Equity Residential (EWR) {after the close}, General Dynamics Corp (GD), Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB), Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT), Lorillard Inc (LO), LSI Corp (LSI), New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYB), Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC), Owens Corning (OC), Owens-Illinois Inc (OI) {after the close}, Praxair Inc (PX), Ryland Group Inc (RYL) {after the close}, Superior Energy Services Inc (SPN) {after the close}, Teradyne Inc (TER) {after the close}, Terex Corp (TEX) {after the close}, The Jones Group Inc (JNY), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO), Trinity Industries Inc (TRN) {after the close}, US Airways Group Inc (LCC), Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN)

Thursday: 3D Systems Corp (DDD), Acme Packet Inc (APKT) {after the close}, Aetna Inc (AET), Altria Group Inc (MO), Amazon.Com Inc (AMZN) {after the close}, Apple Inc (AAPL) {after the close}, Brunswick Corp (BC), Bunge Ltd (BG), CA Inc (CA) {after the close}, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp (COG) {after the close}, Chubb Corp (CB) {after the close}, CME Group Inc (CME), Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (CCE), Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL), ConocoPhillips (COP), CONSOL Energy Inc (CNX), Deckers Outdoor Corp (DECK) {after the close}, DeVry Inc (DV) {after the close}, Dominion Resources Inc (D), Dow Chemical Co (DOW), Eastman Chemical Co (EMN) {after the close}, EQT Corp (EQT), International Paper Co (IP), Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS), JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU), National Oilwell Varco Inc (NOV), Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY), Old Republic International Corp (ORI), Power-One Inc (PWER) {after the close}, Procter & Gamble Co (PG), PulteGroup Inc (PHM), Raytheon Co (RTN), Realty Income Corp (O), Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) {after the close}, Reliance Steel and Aluminum Co (RS), Revlon Inc (REV), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), Safeguard Scientifics Inc (SFE), Sherwin-Williams Co (SHW), Simon Property Group Inc (SPG), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Standard Pacific Corp (SPF) {after the close}, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT), Tenneco Inc (TEN), The Hershey Co (HSY), Under Armour Inc (UA), United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL), Varian Medical Systems Inc (VAR) {after the close}, Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN), Xcel Energy Inc (XEL), Zimmer Holdings Inc (ZMH)

Friday: No announcements scheduled.
* Earnings dates and times are subject to change

Economic Data this Week

Monday
No reports scheduled for release.

Tuesday
No reports scheduled for release.

Wednesday
MBA Mortgage Index @ 7:00 AM for 10/20 (Est. = n/a, Prior = -4.2%)
New Home Sales @ 10:00 AM for September (Est. = 385K, Prior = 373K)
FHFA Housing Price Index @ 10:00 AM for August (Est. = n/a, Prior = 0.2%)
Crude Oil Inventories @ 10:30 AM for 10/20 (Est. = n/a, Prior = 2.860M)
FOMC Rate Decision @ 2:15 PM for October (Est. = 0.25%, Prior = 0.25%)

Thursday
Initial Claims @ 8:30 AM for 10/20 (Est. = 375K, Prior = 388K)
Continuing Claims @ 8:30 AM for 10/13 (Est. = 3237K to 3275K, Prior = 3252K)
Durable Orders @ 8:30 AM for September (Est. = 7.4% to 12.0%, Prior = -13.2%)
Pending Home Sales @ 10:00 AM for September (Est. = 1.0% to 2.4%, Prior = -2.6%)

Friday
Michigan Sentiment @ 9:55 AM for October (Est. = 82.5 to 83.1, Prior = 83.1)