The (Holiday Shortened) Week Ahead...

A holiday shortened week starts off with the deeply depressed Empire State report offering what is expected to be another deeply negative indication on the manufacturing sector. The housing market index will follow on Tuesday and is expected to show continued optimism among the nation's home builders. Housing starts & permits are out on Wednesday and are expected to underscore housing as a leading strength for the economy. The labor market is the economy's greatest strength and initial jobless claims for Thursday will cover the sample week of the February employment report and look set to signal strong improvement from January. Consumer prices close out the week on Friday and are not expected to show any traction.