Coming Up On Wall Street

Wall Street had a surprising and decent run this last week. Much better than expected quarterly reports from Goldman Sachs, Intel, and IBM set the mood for an investment rally.

Its important to remember that the stock market is the leading indicator of the economy. We still have employment, debt default, and foreclosure problems but the market concerns itself with corporate health almost exclusively.

Next week companies like Apple, McDonald's, and Coca Cola report. The last week it was the banking and technology sector, next up is household name brands.

Essentially we are going to see another strategic week where the fortunes of all can turn on a dime.

Reuters: Earnings to decide stocks' fate

In the coming week, 143 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index will report earnings. Results from big manufacturers will give investors the broadest picture yet of the earnings season. So far, banks and technology companies have set the tone.

"The equity market is the biggest leading indicator for the economy, so what we are going to be looking at is what kind of information is coming out of earnings..."