Weekly Newsletter February 3rd - February 9th

Current Events:  US indexes suffer their largest single-session loss of 2013 on Monday due to concerns of reoccurring Europe issues. The big drop comes just as the Dow Jones Industrial Index was ever so close of reaching all-time highs seen over five years ago.

What to Look for This Week

Last week was a busy one for investors as 122 companies reported earnings catapulting U.S. indexes to highs not seen in years. While there are far fewer stocks this week, insurance favorites All-State and Aflac are just some of the popular brand names that will gain attention this week regardless of worries from governments overseas.

News Affecting the Markets

Spanish and Italian debt yields surge on Monday sending U.S. stocks tumbling. Rattled investors pushed bond yields higher in large part to new drama surrounding Spanish and Italian scandals.

Smart Investing

Brokerage Deposits and Withdrawals:  Most brokers allow their clients to deposit and withdrawal their funds with the simplicity of a bank account. However, this should be verified and considered before opening an account. If deposits and withdrawals can only be made through electronic transfer it will almost certainly be at a cost to the investor. Free withdrawals through a check in the mail are likely available, but this takes time and might not meet your needs. Electronic transfers are instantaneous, but costly. Another thing to consider is timing- some brokers require you to wait 3-5 days after a transaction before withdrawing funds. Some accounts come with a Visa or MasterCard debit card that can be used anywhere these cards are accepted to make purchases with the funds you keep in your account. Regardless of the type of trader you are, it is important to consider how you will access your funds once they are in the account before signing up with a broker.

Earnings for the Week

Monday: Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC) {After the Close}, Baidu Inc (BIDU), Gannett Co Inc (GCI), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), Simon Property Group Inc (SPG), Sysco Corp (SYY), Yum! Brands Inc (YUM)

Tuesday:  Aflac Inc (AFL) {After the Close}, Arch Coal Inc (ACI), Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM), Automatic Data Processing Inc (ADP), Becton Dickinson and Co (BDX), Cardinal Health Inc (CAH), CME Group Inc (CME) {After the Close}, Computer Sciences Corp (CSC), Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (DO), Eaton Corp (ETN), Emerson Electric Co (EMR), Equity Residential (EQR) {After the Close}, Estee Lauder Companies Inc (EL), Genworth Financial Inc (GNW) {After the Close}, Kellogg Co (K), Kimco Realty Corp (KIM) {After the Close}, NYSE Euronext (NYX), Revlon Inc (REV), Sirius XM Radio Inc (SIRI), UDR Inc (UDR), Union Bankshares Inc (UNB), Walt Disney Co (DIS) {After the Close}

Wednesday: Allstate Corp (ALL) {After the Close}, Con-way Inc (CNW), Covanta Holding Corp (CVA) {After the Close}, Coventry Health Care Inc (CVH), CVS Caremark Corp (CVS), DeVry Inc (DV) {After the Close}, LeapFrog Enterprises Inc (LF) {After the Close}, Lincoln National Corp (LNC) {After the Close}, Macerich Co (MAC), Mettler Toledo International Inc (MTD) {After the Close}, Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) {After the Close}, Ralph Lauren Corp (RL), Time Warner Inc (TWX), Visa Inc (V) {After the Close}

Thursday:  Advance Auto Parts Inc (AAP), Bunge Ltd (BG), Cigna Corp (CI), Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (CCE), Hasbro Inc (HAS) {After the Close}, Lazard Ltd (LAZ), Monster Worldwide Inc (MWW), Noble Energy Inc (NBL), Philip Morris International Inc (PM), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT), XL Group PLC (XL) {After the Close}

Friday:  American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL), AOL Inc (AOL), CBOE Holdings Inc (CBOE), Entergy Corp (ETR), Moodys Corp (MCO)
* Earnings dates and times are subject to change

 Economic Data this Week

Monday
Factory Orders @ 10:00 AM for December (Act. = 1.8%, Prior = -0.3%)

Tuesday

ISM Services @ 10:00 AM for January (Est. = 55.5 to 55.6, Prior = 56.1)

Wednesday
MBA Mortgage Index @ 7:00 AM for 02/02 (Est. = n/a, Prior = -8.1%)
Crude Inventories @ 10:30 AM for 02/02 (Est. = n/a, Prior = 5.947M)

Thursday

Initial Claims @ 8:30 AM for 02/02 (Est. = 360K to 365K, Prior = 368K)
Continuing Claims @ 8:30 AM for 01/26 (Est. = 3200K, Prior = 3198K)
Natural Gas Inventories @ 10:30 AM for 02/02 (Est. = n/a, Prior = -194)
Consumer Credit @ 3:00 PM for December (Est. = $10.0B to $11.9B, Prior = $16.0B)

Friday

Wholesale Inventories @ 10:00 AM for December (Est. = 0.3% to 0.7%, Prior = 0.6%)