It's going to be a busy week with companies you know chiming in with their quarterly earnings and some economic news of note looking to get posted. As investors, we have little choice but to take the market day by day.
Monday
Placing a signature swoosh on its fiscal 2005 checklist, athletic footwear giant Nike
The Federal Reserve will also start its critical Federal Open Market Committee meeting. While you won't be able to tune in, the Fed will be weighing the direction it wants to steer interest rates based on how it perceives the strength of the economy while playing lion tamer with a furry growling critter called inflation. Yes, Alan Greenspan and his bespectacled crew of data crunchers are a powerful lot.
Tuesday
May the force -- and $69.98 in pocket change -- be with you as Fox
Cereal buffs (and I know I can't be the only one) will be rubbing their Lucky Charms when General Mills
Wednesday
Headline writers everywhere will tire of repeating "FedEx
Thursday
The U.S. Leading Indicators for the month of August will be revealed. By tapping into the way some measures are trending, economists are able to determine whether the financial health of the country is improving or deteriorating. Will it ultimately matter if all you really care about is how you will juggle your Survivor and The Apprentice viewing tonight? Perhaps. You would hate to see an economist snuff out your tiki torch and mutter "You're fired!" because business isn't doing so hot.
If you loaded up on wookies on Tuesday how about rookies on Thursday? Trading card leader Topps
Friday
The August figures for domestic durable goods orders and existing home sales will be made public. Let's take a look at each one of those gauges separately. A durable good isn't that vase that you have miraculously been unable to break. It's just about any vehicle or appliance or sturdy big-ticket item. An uptick in orders means that factories will keep their smokestacks puffing and your uncle fully employed in coming months to keep up with the demand. As for how well existing homes are selling, interest rates may play a key role in how busy moving companies were back in August, but it ultimately speaks of our general optimism or pessimism about the present state of the economy.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz can do a pretty dead-on Yoda impersonation. Ask him now, you will. He doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.