economic data

Home retailers Bed Bath & Beyond and Pier 1 Imports are scheduled to post quarterly earnings this week, along with Monsanto, the biotech, agriculture and chemical giant. Here's what analysts expect to see.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed its best start to the year since 1999 Thursday, rising 6.4% in the first three months. The index of 30 large companies gained 742 points in that stretch -- the largest point gain since 1998 and the second best on record.

The quarter winds down this week with earnings reports from a handful of companies including Lennar, Family Dollar and Krispy Kreme. And on Friday, investors will zero in on the March unemployment report, which could have the potential to move the market.

When a Federal Reserve committee meets Tuesday to consider the federal interest rate, it will likely revise its glum outlook into something brighter. But will it also acknowledge the U.S.'s growing inflation problem?

The U.S. services sector is growing strong, providing additional evidence that the U.S. economy is recovering and might not need more stimulus funding. But that's contingent upon oil staying below $120 per barrel.

Recent market sell-offs may have been more about paranoia than about real risk. JPMorgan calculations indicate that the potential impact of rising oil prices on the economy may be less than most investors think. But the fear factor itself also can't be overlooked.

This week we turn the calendar page, and that change brings with it a raft of economic data. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress, while Wall Street waits on more earnings reports.

The all-important January employment reports come out this week. Also worth watching for are a host of earnings releases, led by economic bellwhether UPS. The package deliverer is expected to post strong results.

Alcoa, Intel and JPMorgan Chase will kick off a new earnings season this week when they report their results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect, followed by a glance at what's coming up on the economic calendar.

Even as the year winds to a close this week, a handful of economic releases are on the schedule. Starting on Monday, the Chicago Fed releases its Midwest Manufacturing Index for November. Then we'll see consumer confidence, jobless claims and more.