Employment, Home Prices, Income, Manufacturing

Markets are looking optimistic this morning ahead of an insanely busy week. Monday begins slowly with no major macroeconomic data on the schedule, but later in the week are key industry surveys, the monthly employment numbers, critical spending figures, plus housing prices and a variety of speeches from the Federal Reserve Board.

The S&P 500 dropped a heavy 2.2% last week, and moves in either direction could be even more dramatic this week, if data surprises.

“The key data out this week on home prices, consumer confidence, spending and production are expected to show the recovery is gaining traction, and job losses are slowing,” said Jennifer Lee, economist at BMO Capital Markets. “This might shore up investor confidence after weaker-than-expected reports last week on home sales and factory orders raised doubts about the recovery’s durability.”

Key Releases This Week:

Monday:

Treasury Auctions:

1:00 â€