Understanding the Why the Market Went Up Mid-Week and the Coming Congressional Debate/Hearings Over Bank Lending and Bonuses

Why You Care has gotten numerous questions about two things: 1) How can the market go up amidst bad news?, and 2) Now that taxpayers own a piece of big time financial institutions, what's Congress going to do?

First to the market's behavior...

Here's why you care: The New York Times Michael Grynbaum deftly explains today that sometimes if the market is simply not surprised by more bad news, that in itself is reassuring. In other words, much like we've pointed out in earnings coverage, it is a game of expectations. For instance, our Thursday futures calendar for the following week lists off key earnings, well, often times you find stories on Friday and Sunday preceding the week on those companies. Why? To frame the earnings report for the purposes of managing expectations. Read Mr. Grynbaum and feel smarter.

As to Banks and Congress...

Here's why you care: This week House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman sent letters to the financial institutions receiving tax payer funds seeking an explanation for their end of the year bonus plans. Today, House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank announced a second hearing on November 12 (he previously announced one for November 18) to examine if banks receiving tax payer funds are in fact using the money to lend. In other words, Congress is REALLY interested. Fortunately, there are two pieces out there that frame both sides of the debate. The Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein lays out the problems of tinkering with financial institutions in "Hank Paulson's $125 Billion Mistake." And, the New York Time's Clyde Haberman frames the questions that we often hear from readers in "We're All Bankers Now. So Why's the A.T.M. Still Charging Us $2?"

Both pieces are well written and combined they will take three minutes of your day. We know most of you are looking at presidential polling numbers, but believe us when we say you want to get ahead of understanding this debate.

Next Week's News Today (Election Day, Media Companies, Casinos, Liquor, Steak Houses, and of course Real Estate)

If it's Thursday, then it's time for Next Week's News Today where we publish our own futures calendar of earnings, reports, hearings and political events which will either drive the news, or deserve more attention. Last week we were correct to point out that earnings would be a driver, and that oil companies would get serious play. We were right that regional banks would get play, but we were disappointed to not see an overarching story on the health of the regional banks sparked by the litany of earnings reports last week. We also thought the number of real estate companies reporting last week would have been a terrific piece - but sometimes the market itself overshadows the sidebars.

Before diving into trends for next week, we have an update for tomorrow's calendar: Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke speaks (via satellite) at 2p ET to the "Symposium on the Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy and Public Policy." Sounds exactly like the type of thing for a live webcast.

Here's why you care about next week's trends:

Politics - First, we all know Tuesday is the big day. Barring hanging chads, look for a quick turnaround in the news on what the next administration's cabinet will look like (we wouldn't be surprised to see articles on Sunday looking at both candidates in this light), specifically in the business pages what the financial team for the next administration will look like.

Broadcasting - Last week Comcast reported, next week Cox Radio, Iowa Telecom, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, and Time Warner Telecom all report earnings on 11/5 and are among the media companies reporting next week. Advertising dollars, distribution, and what people are willing to live with, and without in a strained economy are interesting if part of a broader look at the industry.

Gaming/Casinos - Ameristar Casino and Churchill Downs (11/5), and Trump Entertainment Resorts (11/7) provide a platform of an examination of how the gaming industry fairs when times get tough.

Liquor - AmBev and Anheuser-Busch report 11/6 and stories on alcohol consumption during a volatile market are always interesting.

Steak Houses - Yes, steak houses. McCormick & Schmick's and Ruth's Chris Steak House (11/5) are both reporting next week, and the question in our minds is - are business lunches on the decline? We'll guess yes, but we could be wrong.

Real Estate - Next week (like last week) offers a deep bench of real estate companies reporting. What interests us is what these companies are thinking for the long term. We'd love to see an article on their 1, 2 and 5 year plans. If anything that would show what each company is betting is the bottom of the market, and how they plan to keep fighting in the years to come.

Utilities - There are again a broader number of utilities reporting next week. This is an opportunity to look at utility costs for homeowners in the same way basic goods have been analyzed.

Reports - Car and Truck sales are out on 11/4 and unemployment 11/7 - both likely to get at least a paragraph on the business pages.

As always, all items are broken down by day below.

MONDAY 11/3
Earnings: Allegheny Energy; Atlas Energy Resources; Automatic Data Processing; Bronco Drilling Co.; Comstock Res Inc.; Cross Country Healthcare Inc; Dynamics Research; Forest Oil Corp.; Herbalife; Goodyear tire; Grubb & Ellis; Hawaiian Electric Industries; Houston Wire & Cable; Health Care REIT; MasterCard; Mercury General; Mohawk Industries Inc.; NICOR Inc; Parkway Properties; PMI Group; Post Properties; Orient-Express Hotels; Oshkosh Corp; Pennsylvania REIT; Principal Financial Group; Rockwell Collins; St. Mary Land and Exploration; Sysco; UDR Inc.; United States Cellular Corp;

Economic Reports: Construction Spending (for September); Federal Reserve posts its statistical release on Foreign Exchange Rates.

Events: Washington Post reporter Liz Mundy signs her Michelle Obama biography "Michelle" at Politics and Prose


TUESDAY 11/4 - ELECTION DAY
Earnings: AMICAS; Archer-Daniels; Ameren; Boston Beer Co; BRE Properties; Cambrex; Emerson; FirstEnergy; Healthsouth; HRPT Properties; Kenneth Cole; Gasco Energy; LoJack; Marvel Enterprises; National Retail Properties; Nautilus Group; Papa John's; Perot Systems; Providence Service Group; Tenet Healthcare; Tenneco; Titanium Metals; TXCO Resources; Ultra Petroleum; Virgin Mobile USA; Vornado Realty Trust; Weight Watchers

Economic Reports: Car and Truck Sales (for October); Factory Order (for September)


WEDNESDAY 11/5
Earnings: Activision Blizzard; Advisory Board; AMBAC Financial; Ameristar Casinos; AvalonBay; Blackstone; Brandywine Realty; CapitalSource; CenterPoint Energy; Checkpoint Systems; Churchill Downs; Cisco; Conseco; Cox Radio; Devon Energy; Digital Realty Trust; General Motors; Hertz Global; K-Swiss; Inland Real Estate; Iowa Telecom; LandAmerica Financial; Marsh & McLennan Co.; McCormick & Schmick's; New Frontier Media; Newstar Financial; Parker Drilling; Plains All American; Polo Ralph Lauren; Quicksilver Gas; Quicksilver Resources; Radian Group; Revlon; Ruth's Chris Steak House; Sara Lee; Sinclair Broadcast Group; Speedway Motorsports; Sunoco; Time Warner; Time Warner Cable; Time Warner Telecom; Whole Foods; Ziprealty

Economic Reports: ADP Employment (for October [this is a private company's research on unemployment figures]); Crude Inventories

Events: National Press Club hosts the RNC and DNC Chairmen (12:30p ET)


THURSDAY 11/6
Earnings: AES Corp.; Allied Capital; AmBev; Anheuser-Busch; Assured Guaranty; AthenaHealth; Barr Pharmaceuticals; bebe stores; Biovail; Blockbuster; Borland; Bristow Group; Building Materials; Cablevision; California Pizza Kitchen; Caribou Coffee; CastlePoint Holdings; Citadel Broadcasting; Continental Energy; Delta Petroleum; Discovery Labs; Dolby Laboratories; Dynergy Inc; Echelon; Elizabeth Arden; Fannie Mae; Frontier Oil; Genesis Energy, LP; GTX Inc.; Hansen Natural Corp; Hospitality Properties; HRPT Properties; IMAX Corp; JMP Group; King Pharmaceuticals; Lexington Realty Trust; Linn Energy; MBIA Inc; Medical Properties Trust; NASDAQ; Natural Gas Services; Nortel; Northstar Realty; Patriot Capital Funding; PG&E; Pioneer Drilling; priceline.com; Public Storage; OM Group; Orleans Homebuilders; Petrohawk Energy; Playboy; Qualcomm; Quanta Services; Sapient; Senior Housing Properties; Spectra Energy; Spectrum Brands; Steven Madden; Tower Group; Stone Energy; Toyota; Tyco Electronics; U.S. Concrete; Vonage; Walt Disney; Williams Companies

Economic Reports: Initial (Unemployment) Claims


FRIDAY 11/7
Earnings: Aircastle; Con Edison; Cooper Tire; Crosstex Energy; Discovery; Edison; Ford Motor Co.; Life Point Hospitals; Metalico; Nordic American Tanker; Reliant Energy; Sotheby's; Sprint Nextel; Sun Communities; Tetra Technologies; Trump Entertainment Resorts; Westar Energy

Economic Reports: Hourly Earnings (for October); Unemployment Rate (for October); Wholesale Inventories (for September); Consumer Credit (for September); Federal Reserve posts its statistical release on Consumer Credit 3p.

Understanding How Low the Federal Reserve Can Go and a Quick Guide to Your Salary and Tax Cuts.

Why You Care loves two types of journalism stories: The type that reports the news and flags how it impacts you down the road, and/or pieces that clearly lay out in an easy accessible way why you care about them. Today you need to take 3 minutes and read two pieces. One by the Wall Street Journal's Jon Hilsenrath on the Federal Reserve and interest rates and the other by CNN/Money.com's Jeanne Sahadi on what type of tax cut (or not) you would get under an Obama administration versus a McCain administration.

Here's why you care: The Journal's Hilsenrath points out there are really two main questions going forward regardless of the Fed's actions today with interest rates - 1) Does a cut mean another lending bubble?, and 2) How low can the Fed really go? Hilsenrath points out that the real action is the second question. Read his report and understand where the Federal Reserve may end up and why. You need to know because the market down the road is going to care a lot.

Meanwhile, Sahadi's article is particularly utilitarian. Everyone wants to look up their salary and figure out what type of tax cut or tax hike they'd get under the next administration. She not only does the math to make it easy, you'll be able to recite the candidates' positions with the type of clarity that would put a professional pundit to shame.

Reading these two articles will leave you better equipped to understand the business pages in the coming days and months.

Jaws Drop as Home Prices Plummet and BusinessWeek's Chief Economist Outlines the Argument that will Dominate Congress

Eye popping, yet not surprising. That's what you are likely to think about about the new report showing home prices falling 17.7% from last year in a number of major cities. The Wall Street Journal's Donna Kardos has a terrific write on the report, and the Journal has an excellent second web page breaking down each metro area. If you want to focus on Los Angeles then you should check out the zen master of LA real estate - aka - the LA Times' Peter Viles who runs the paper's real estate blog: LA Land.

You should take a moment with the report, and as we say, eye popping but not surprising. Not surprising because the economy hasn't stabilized yet. How do we get to stability? Well, that's why today's must read is BusinessWeek's chief economist Michael Mandel who argues that the economy's problem isn't a confidence crisis but rather a breakdown in the economic system itself.

Here's why you care: Mr. Mandel's argument essentially says this - We are in a global economy where a number of countries depend on American consumers to do just that consume, but how can Americans continue to do that if their personal debt is rising while their wages are falling? Yes, we are doing a slight disservice in over simplifying his argument. But, that's why we are highlighting this for you. His arguments will be important as Capitol Hill will return post election and will undoubtedly tackle a stimulus package (i.e. - a cash injection for the tax payer, as we've previously noted deserves to be on your radar screen).

Mr. Mandel's argument is both thought provoking, and well laid out. Whether we agree or disagree with him is beside the point, we think you'll walk away from it better able to understand the policy arguments over the next month between Capitol Hill and Wall Street. You'll be glad you read it.

Banks Claim It's Killing the Economy - Here's "It" is, and How You Can Understand "It".

Decoding the business pages sometimes involves a two step process. Step one: Getting past industry lingo. Step two: Understanding often obtuse business concepts. We try to help you decode the business pages and put you ahead of the curve. Today, Allan Sloan, senior editor at large for FORTUNE Magazine has done the two steps for everyone in his FORTUNE article posted on CNN/Money.com. It is about industry lingo called "mark-to-market" - aka - Financial Accounting Standard 157 (sometimes called FAS 157). Sounds terrible, huh? Well, it might have a big impact on your 401k.

Here's why you care: Mr. Sloan frankly does a service for you by explaining this term because all the banks REALLY, REALLY, REALLY care about it. In fact, why they care is why you care. The concept basically requires banks to account for all their assets at the price they can sell them today. Banks say, hey, wait a second, I wasn't intending to sell those bundled mortgages for years so don't make me say they are only worth what I'd get for them on today's market that is in the gutter, because if you do that I'll need even more money to stay afloat.

And if banks need more money, and can't get it from other banks, guess where they turn? Under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act they can go to the U.S. Treasury. This is about to get a lot of attention because the Stabilization Act says the concept has to be studied - thus the reason for the banks' concern, they don't want to have to readjust their balance sheets in a negative way. You can bet Wall Street is watching. You need to as well.

There is, of course, a counter argument which essentially says the concept works because what if a bank suddenly ends up having to sell the asset? Shouldn't we have a fair read of the value of all the assets? And of course, now that taxpayers have stock in many of the banks that makes things even more interesting.

Read Mr. Sloan's article and never let "mark-to-market" send you to Wikipedia again.

Understanding How Greenspan and California's Foreclosure Law Will Play in the Financial Crisis Debate

Two must reads for you today. While Why You Care was posting our futures calendar (Next Week's News Today) yesterday, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was making news on Capitol Hill, we've narrowed down the mountain of coverage to one story on it that you'll need to read in order to understand the debate in the weeks and months (likely years) to come.

Plus, we have a forward looking article on how California has slowed the foreclosure process... at least temporarily. This will also be part of the public debate over solutions, so you'll want to understand it now.

First to Mr. Greenspan -

Here's why you care: The Wall Street Journal's Kara Scannell and Sudeep Reddy have a terrific write deciphering what Mr. Greenspan had to say and how the lawmakers questioned him. You need to read this piece because his testimony will be used in much of the public debate over how much regulation is needed, and where to find a balance between regulating and over regulating. You're going to see it again and again, so it is well worth your time.

Now to California's foreclosure process -

Here's why you care: The must read LA Times story by William Heisel, Marc Lifsher and Maura Reynolds shows that California has done something inventive - put a law in place this past September requiring lenders to wait 30 days after contacting the defaulting borrower (or making reasonable efforts to) before initiating the foreclosure process. Why this article is a must read is because the result is still a jump ball. Yes, the reporters note the process has slowed, but their reporting also illustrates it is unclear whether the desired result is achieved: More lenders and borrowers working out loans instead of turning to foreclosure. Time will tell, but you can bet other state lawmakers are watching this. And they are reading this story - so should you.

Next Week's News Today: (Economic Crisis Metaphor Alert as Earnings, Hearings, and Political Polls Collide)

If it's Thursday, then it's time for Next Week's News Today where we publish our own futures calendar of earnings, reports, hearings and political events which will either drive the news, or deserve more attention. Last week we were correct to point out that earnings would be the main action.

Here's why you care: This coming week expect earnings to also take center stage. The list below is not exhaustive, but selective (although exhaustive for us to have gone through). Are there narratives here in the deluge of company earning reports? Sure. First, the well known names like Verizon (10/27) or Comcast, Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble, and Prudential (all 10/29) will likely get there own stories on the wires, and on the web.

Looking at all the companies there are many related to oil, like Chevron (10/31), but there are also a number of companies reporting that are associated with oil drilling that make for interesting copy as to the industry which did so well this past summer, only to have prices go down of late.

There are once again a number of regional banks below that collectively deserve more attention. It would be nice to have stories on the status of the Treasury's watch list for regional banks that might fail.

We were interested to see the surprising number of real estate related companies reporting next week. Since expectations are low, let's see who beats them.

Economic reports like New Home Sales (for September out on 10/27) and Personal Spending and Income (10/31) will make good news pegs to examine the economy.

Capitol Hill will get into the action with a number of economic hearings listed below, notably the Joint Economic Cmte (10/30) could prove interesting once their witness list is complete.

And if you are inclined to look at earnings as truly being put on metaphor alert for the economy you might see a piece on Moody's earnings (10/29) in the business section and a story on Mortons Restaurant Group (10/29) in the style section on the same day.

Lastly, politics can't be ignored as the economy is the number one issue on the campaign trail and next week is the last week of the campaign. Notably Quinnipiac University unveils a poll at the Press Club (10/30) taken simultaneously in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania - all states feeling the pinch of declining real estate values.

As always, events are broken down by days below.

MONDAY 10/27
Earnings: American Financial Group; Americredit Corp; Applied Industrial Technologies; Arch Coal; Axis Capital Holdings; Bank of Hawaii; BE Aerospace Inc.; Boardwalk Pipeline; CNA Financial; Corus Bankshares; Ducommun Inc.; Eagle Materials; Education Realty Trust Inc.; Fidelity National Information Services; First Advantage Corp; First State Banc; Franklin Electric; Gehl Co; Heartland Financial USA; Hercules; Kilroy Realty; Lorillard; Old National Bancorp; Parexel International Corp; Penn National Gaming; Plum Creek; PrivateBancorp; SL Green Realty Corp; Tidewater; Universal Health Services; Verizon; Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Economic Reports: New Homes Sales (for September)


TUESDAY 10/28
Earnings: ACE Ltd; Actel Corp; Align Technology Inc.; American Capital Agency Corp; Apollo Group; Bemis; BP; Boston Properties; Canadian Pacific Railway; Centex; Check Point Software; CTS Corp; Denny's; Dreamworks Animation; EarthLink; Entergy Corp; Estee Lauder; FirstMerit Corp; FMC Corp; Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.; Health Management Associates Inc.; Holly Energy Partners; Kansas City Southern; Lan Airlines SA; LandAmerica Financial Group; Martha Stewart; Martin Marietta Materials; McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.; MicroStrategy; NetLogic; Occidental Petroleum; Odyssey Healthcare; Pacer International; Peet's Coffee; Pzena Management Inc; RenaissanceRE Holdings Ltd.; Royal Caribbean Cruises; SAP AG; Sierra Wireless; Smith International Inc.; Taser; U.S. Steel; Under Armor; USG Corp; Valero Energy; Whirlpool

Economic Reports: Consumer Confidence (for October)

Hearings: House Education and Labor Cmte.: Impact of Economy on Health Coverage


WEDNESDAY 10/29
Earnings: Advanced Auto Parts; Aetna; Ameriprise Financial; Annaly Mortgage; Comcast; Constellation Energy; Corning; Drugstore.com; Equity Residential; Federal Realty Investment Trust; FirstService Corp; Hartford Financial; Invesco; Kellogg; Kraft Foods; Lazard; Legg Mason; MetLife; Moody's; Mortons Restaurant Group; New York Community Bancorp; Nexen; Noble Energy; Office Depot; Owens Corning; Procter & Gampble; Prudential; Qwest; RealNetworks; Sony; SPX Corp; Standard Pacific; Suncor Energy; Visa

Economic Reports: Durable Orders (for September); Crude Inventories (for 10/25); Federal Open Market Cmte Policy Statement released

Hearings: 1) House Transportation and Infrastructure Cmte.: Economic Recovery and Infrastructure Investing; 2) House Ways and Means Cmte.: Economic Security and Recovery


THURSDAY 10/30
Earnings: Advisory Board; Alcatel-Lucent; Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.; American Capital; AmerisourceBergen Corp; Apache Corp; Avon Products; Ball Corp; BJ Services; Blockbuster; Brinks; Bronco Drilling; Callaway Golf; Cameron; CBS Corp; Chiquita Brands; CIGNA Corp; CMS Energy; Colgate-Palmolive; Conseco; CVS Caremark; Dominion; Dril Quip Inc; Eastman Kodak; Energizer Holdings; Expedia Inc.; Exxon Mobil; Flagstar Bancorp; First American Corp; France Telecom; Human Genome Sciences Inc.; Integra Bank; International Paper; Mack Cali Realty Corp.; Marathon Oil; Midas; Midway Games; MFA Mortgage Investments Inc.; Micros Systems; Nationwide; NRG Energy; Newell Rubermaid Inc.; Omega Healthcare Investments; Penske Auto; Pride International Inc.; Public Service Enterprise Group; Radian Group; Realty Income Corp; SBA Communications Corp; Signature Bank; Sirius XM Radio; Steven Madden; Sun Microsystems; Timberland; Union Drilling; Waste Management; WebMD Health; Weingarten Realty; Westwood One Inc; Wyndham Worldwide; Wynn Resorts

Economic Reports: Initial Unemployment Claims (for 10/25);

Hearings: Joint Economic Cmte.: Economic Recovery - Need for Growth and Stimulus examines Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers (early signs growth stalling and spending declining).

Polls: Quinnipiac University Poll press conference, 10a National Press Club on polls conducted simultaneously in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.


FRIDAY 10/31
Earnings: Alliant Energy; American Electric; Burger King; Chevron; MB Financial; NYSE Euronext;

Economic Reports: Employment Cost Index (for the third quarter); Personal Income (for September); Personal Spending (for September);

Understanding How... As the California Recovery Goes, So Goes the Nation (Plus a Note on Today's Market Flux)

There's an important article today that you are likely to overlook, and guess what? It lays out in detail what the recovery is likely to look like... under a microscope... just for you. Remember, if you buy into the thesis that a recovery can't happen without home prices stabilizing then you shouldn't ignore today's Wall Street Journal article on California. Most Why You Care readers are familiar with the political maxim: As California goes, so goes the nation. It turns out, so does the economy.

Here's why you care: The Journal article today is important for two reasons. First, it gives you a detailed understanding of how the market will unfold by providing evidence of properties in certain California communities starting to sell for bargain basement prices. The result is a domino effect into the next community driving prices down further, but with the promise that they will start to be bought on the market.

Second, it cites a study claiming that while "California represents about 12% of the nation's population, its homes account for 34% of the loans in a typical mortgage-backed security." Wow - 34%. That means even if you don't really care about the California market, you actually have to because it impacts the economy, and the banks where you keep your money, and your 401K which likely includes investments impacted by the mortgage/credit crisis.

(Quick primer on a mortgage back security: That's where an entity buys up a bunch of mortgages, stuffs them into a salami casing, and essentially cuts pieces off and sells them to investors. Each piece contains different percentages of a variety of mortgages - some more safe than others.)

Bonus why you care about today's market flux: Notably the New York Times and others are pointing to earnings reports today as the reason for the market roller coaster. However, we note that this past Thursday when we published Next Week's News Today on our site we highlighted that this week's action would be due to earnings reports. Just another reason to never miss each Thursday's Next Week's News Today.

As always, our goal: Put you ahead of the curve and decode the business pages.

The Answer to the Financial/Credit Crisis - More Banking Mergers?

Why You Care is not surprised by the New York Times story today reporting that the Treasury is seeking more mergers in the banking industry. The plan at its most basic level is this: Make all moves necessary to shore up banks.

Here's why you care: The story notes that it isn't just about the uber national banks, but the name brand regional banks. You need to read this story, because the unintended consequences of mergers have not yet been explored. However, we trust they will in the days to come. For those ahead of the curve, this means a number of things. First it may mean investment opportunities now. Second, it may (or may not) mean that banks start lending capital (on the national level). Third, it might mean a face lift for you small town bank. Fourth, if your small town bank does in fact get a face lift, it might mean a new person behind the loan desk that doesn't know you or your business - or conversely it might actually mean a familiar face behind the loan desk has money again.

Read this story and be ahead of the curve.

The Mortgage and Credit Crisis Hits Day Laborers and Why You Care

Over the weekend half of Why You Care went to Home Depot to load up on dirt and other items for a few projects. Upon entering the parking lot off of Rhode Island Ave N.E. was a sight I've not seen before, at least fifty - 50 - day laborers standing around with no takers. Nothing but boredom and each other to keep themselves company. Home Depot has always been a favorite spot to hire and get hired for work. The difference between this past weekend and life before is that people were hiring. Good story, actually great story, good enough to write and pitch.

So, this morning when the New York Times did the piece I was both happy and a reader with high expectations.

Here's why you care: The Times' piece is very much about how economics is really a life or death struggle. The day laborers who stand around for the next month with no work will be dipping into their emergency funds, and soon those will be gone. What is left is a captive and vulnerable group of people. The story does a good job of showing how they get stiffed by contractors, afraid to follow up in some cases because of their immigration status. The other predator (at least for those up in Northeast Washington, D.C.) are drug gangs.

If you are a day laborer down on your luck and afraid to go to the police doesn't that make you: 1) an easy target for mugging, if someone thinks you just came from a job?; 2) possible target for drug sales if you turn to narcotics to mitigate a variety of issues?; and 3) maybe, even maybe in some cases, desperate enough to turn to selling narcotics as a last resort?

Loading up my trunk with dirt, landscaping, etc. I turned down not less than three guys wanting to work on the yard, or at the minimum load the goods into the vehicle. No one was pushy, all unfailingly polite, all hard working guys, all desperate to work hard.

The one interesting part of the news coverage over the mortgage meltdown has been the extraordinary way news has shown that the economy effects everyone. Lack of lending means lack of developing, which means lack of working, which feeds more foreclosures, which hurts the banks and property values further.

A great piece to be done here is to translate this story to TV. The other great piece to be done is to follow up with community/social services groups and ask them are they prepared to help. Why You Care would watch that piece.

Today's Times' piece might feel like a feature, but we assure that this objectively puts you ahead of the curve, because as the economy stagnates those most vulnerable will soon be very evident.

Understanding Why Banks May Not Immediately Lend, and What It Means for You

Big news in the New York Times today - the banks receiving taxpayer cash transfusions may not turn around and use it for lending for a while (the story says quarters - which is Wall Street speak for 3-6 months). You need to read this story and understand why the banks think this, and what it means to you.

Here's why you care: Remember on Tuesday when we pointed out that the shift in the government's plan from emphasizing buying and selling of the mortgage related bank assets to direct cash injection into U.S. banks would likely be "debated in the days, months, years to come depending on how successful it is"...?

Recall yesterday that we pointed to a story with Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) head, Sheila Bair, raising all sorts of warning flags by arguing that not enough was being done for the homeowner to stay in her house? Her argument essentially is that the economy won't right itself until housing prices stabilize.

If you put the three stories together you come out with this: Buried in today's story is an important quote from JPMorgan chairman and chief executive, Jamie Dimon, “It’s clear that the government would like us to use the capital. ...If you are a bank that is filling a hole, you obviously can’t do that.” Mr. Dimon is evidently not talking about JPMorgan but about other banks being in a hole.

Thus, if the banks are so bad off that they need to replenish before they can simply lend... AND if Ms. Bair is right about rescuing the homeowner, you end up realizing that the government will have a lot of pressure to fill the gap for the next 3-6 months before the wheels of lending actually start moving.

That leads us to the point we've also emphasized, keep an eye out for Capitol Hill stories about another stimulus bill - i.e. a cash transfusion into the taxpayer.

Now that you are sufficiently stressed out for both 2008 and 2009, we suggest reading Warren Buffet's op-ed piece in today's New York Times. It will provide some longterm perspective.

Next Week's News Today (Banks, Politics, Tech Stocks, and the FDIC Tosses Out a Penalty Flag).

If it's Thursday, then it's time for Next Week's News Today. BUT, before we get to our futures calendar of what you are likely to see in the news next week, and what we hope we'll see in the news next week, we need to spotlight a story for you today.

During this economic crisis names like Bernanke have suddenly become household names. But, there's another name: Sheila Bair, the person in charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Ms. Bair is now a regular in the business pages, and some of you who only read the A Section may even recognize her name and you should. Ms. Bair, as we posted in what seems like a lifetime ago on August 27, 2008, raised the red flag that more regional bank failures were likely and the Treasury may need to step in and backstop up to $100,000 in your local bank account. Voila, here we are and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act raised that number to $250,000.

So when Ms. Bair says, hey wait a second, please look at this, it is worth a time out. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Ms. Bair says despite all the government cash infusions into the banks, etc. that we are collectively missing the point. She says we need to be doing more for homeowners facing foreclosure, noting that you can't stabilize the economy until you stabilize housing prices. The kicker? The New York Times reports today that housing prices may not hit the bottom until the end of 2009. (Why You Care notes whether or not this forecast becomes reality will be reflected differently in different markets).

Keep your eye on Ms. Bair's advocacy. We suspect there'll be more reporting to be done.

Back to Next Week's News Today:

Yes, the presidential debates are done, but the dash to election day is now upon us. The economy is still the number one issue, so continue to look for a mix of economic and political news off the campaign trail as both candidates try to frame themselves as both a leader and a fixer.

And Congress? Look for more stories reading the tea leaves on a second stimulus bill.

Next week's economic reports are notable mostly for initial unemployment claims out Thursday and existing home sales (for September) out Friday. The real action, much like yesterday, will be in the earnings area.

There will be a number of financial and financially related institutions with earnings due next week, offering excellent news hooks to gauge the health of Wall Street and the economy. Please remember, however, that this round of earnings can't really be an indicator as to whether the economic rescue legislation worked or not. You have to give it time. None the less, American Express on Monday; E*Trade, Fifth Third Bancorp, M&T Bank, Regions Financial Corp. on Tuesday; AMBAC Financial Group, Wachovia and Washington Mutual on Wednesday; Legg Mason, MBIA Inc., SunTrust Banks and TD Ameritrade on Thursday; and T. Rowe Price on Friday -- are all going to drive news.

Of note, we wonder whether E*Trade and TD Ameritrade actually do more business during a very tough economy because of more trades than they do in a vanilla economy? We'd read that story.

Other interesting news hooks? Retailers got a lot of attention as we predicted, and perhaps a look at Amazon.com on Wednesday deserves some play.

As for the tech sector, Yahoo! on Wednesday and Interwoven and Microsoft on Friday make for a tidy look at that sector.

Could any of the earnings have potential crossover to become campaign issues? "You 'betcha" - Halliburton reports on Monday. We wouldn't be surprised to see political campaigns use that as fuel to get media attention.

As always, notable events are broken down by days below.

MONDAY 10/20
Earnings: American Express; Centex; Equifax; Equity Lifestyle Properties; Halliburton Co.; Hasbro Inc.; Mattel Inc.; Nabors Industries Ltd.; Netflix; Novartis AG; Texas Instruments; Unionbancal Corp.

Economic Reports: Leading Indicators


TUESDAY 10/21
Earnings: AK Steel; Brinker; Caterpillar; Coach; DuPont; E*Trade; Fifth Third Bancorp.; Forest Labs; KeyCorp; Lockheed Martin; M&T Bank; Manpower Inc.; McClatchy Co.; National City; Norfolk Southern; Pfizer; Regions Financial Corp.; Schering-Plough; Tupperware; UnitedHealth; US Bancorp; USG Corp..; Western Union; Yahoo!; 3M

Economic Reports: 0


WEDNESDAY 10/22
Earnings: AMBAC Financial Group; Allstate; Amazon.com; Amgen; Apple; AT&T; Boeing; Cirrus Logic; Citrix Systems; Chipotle Mexican Grill; ConocoPhillips; General Dynamics; GlaxoSmithKline; Kimberly-Clark; McDonald's; Merck; Noble Corp.; Nutrisystem; PepsiAmericas; Philip Morris International; Plantronics; Seagate Technology; Wachovia; WellPoint; Washington Mutual; Wyeth

Economic Reports: Crude Inventories


THURSDAY 10/23
Earnings: AFLAC; Air Tran Holdings; Alaska Air; Altria; Black & Decker; Bristol-Myers; Coca-Cola Enterprises; Daimler AG; Diamond Offshore; Dow Chemical; Echelon Corp; EnCana Corp.; Eli Lilly; Ethan Allen; Ford; Franklin Resources; Genworth Financial; Goodrich; Interwoven; Janus Capitol; Jetblue Airways; Legg Mason; MBIA Inc.; Microsoft; Midas; National Oilwell Varco; New York Times; Precision Drilling; Raymond James; Raytheon; SEI Investments; Starwood Hotels; SunTrust Banks; TD Ameritrade; Union Pacific; US Airways; Wendy's; Whirlpool; Xerox

Economic Reports: Initial (unemployment) Claims

FRIDAY 10/24
Earnings: Ericsson L M; Fortune Brands; Gannett; ITT Corp; T. Rowe Price

Economic Reports: Existing Homes Sales (for September)

$24 Billion in Mortgages to Reset Higher? Can We See the Bottom? And Other Questions.

Why You Care normally highlights just one article a day, but we've gotten many questions about what's next - for your job, your house, etc. So today we're going to address four questions:

1) What is likely to happen in the next month? You need to keep your eye on two important items... First: Are the banks that received government cash really going to turn around and use those funds to start lending again? That's important, and the Wall Street Journal points out today this could take weeks or months. Second, in the same article the Journal notes that Citigroup thinks $24 billion in mortgages will reset next month - AND RESET HIGHER. That's a big deal for homeowners trying to hang on. Why? It is your old friend Libor - which Why You Care has previously explained is the rate at which banks lend to each other, and is often used to help reset adjustable rate mortgages (i.e. mortgages with "ARMs").

2) Is there another shoe to drop? Yes. The New York Times has a thoughtful piece on what is going to happen to salaries. The headline being don't expect raises to keep up with inflation. This, of course, will not help spending which has been the backbone of the economy. Read David Leonhardt's piece in the Times and you'll not necessarily feel better, but you'll feel smarter.

3) Have we reached the bottom? Who knows. But, the Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein makes a cogent argument that we have a ways to go, and he sketches out what the next few years could look like. The reason we are highlighting his piece is that he does an excellent job in his argument of illustrating the interconnectedness of the different parts of the economy (i.e. how it will impact everyone you know).

4) Is there any good news here at all? That depends on how you look at it. Can you look years down the road? If so, maybe. The New York Times' Alex Berenson shows a number of professional investors that think in the big picture this period will look like everything was on sale. That might be true if you have enough funds to afford the risk and not touch the money for years. Or, maybe not. Berenson's piece, however, is a terrific read.

Remember tomorrow is Thursday, and that means our futures calendar Next Week's News Today. Why You Care will be watching tonight's presidential debate in the meantime.

The New Lay of the Land from Wall Street to Capitol Hill

If you missed it on CNN, then you've probably seen President Bush's announcement in your email or online - you, we, all of us taxpayers are going to be stockholders in major U.S. banks to the tune of $250 billion (which will come out of the $700 billion economic rescue legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President). The Wall Street Journal has an excellent write, or if you prefer here is the Treasury press release.

What Why You Care thinks is interesting is that the Treasury press release says that the $250 billion is coming out of rescue legislation's TARP program (Troubled Assets Relief Program).

Here's why you care: Yesterday we attended a breakfast discussion with Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari who is responsible for the TARP program. TARP is interesting because until this weekend it seemed like the $700 billion would be used to buy up the problem assets (bad loans, mortgage products, mortgages themselves) from the banks to hold and resell them. However, that takes infrastructure and bureaucracy, both of which take time to build. That's why Mr. Kashkari yesterday detailed all the things Treasury is doing at breakneck speed to put in place the necessary tools to buy and hold assets. Meanwhile, Friday night and over the weekend it became more apparent the U.S. government would start buying essentially shares in banks (thus allowing banks to have fresh cash). It would seem that TARP is not going to be as big as we thought in terms of buying loans/mortgages etc. (There may still be some purchase and reselling of the assets, just not as much as first signaled).

What's this mean for you? It means less taxpayer built infrastructure. That might be good, it might not. BUT, we can tell you this is a shift, and you will see this debated in the days, months, years to come depending on how successful it is - Was the direct purchase of the banks' shares a better call than the direct purchase, holding, and reselling of the banks' assets?

Why You Care just wants you to be ahead of the curve when it comes to policy debates that will play out on the business pages, and on Capitol Hill.

Breakfast Discussion with the $700 Billion Man - And - The Treasury's Next 24 Plus Hours

Why You Care attended a morning discussion with Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari - the man in charge of Treasury's $700 billion troubled asset purchase program (known as TARP - the Troubled Assets Relief Program) - and can report that the Treasury will make key announcements in the coming days, including one in the next 24 hours.

During the discussion sponsored by the Institute of International Bankers, Mr. Kashkari announced:

The Treasury will reveal in the next 24 hours a “Master Custodian Firm” which will shepherd the assets purchased and held by the Treasury, including those through auctions.

In the next few days the Treasury will announce a “Securities Asset Manager” which will oversee and sell the mortgage backed securities bought by the Treasury.

The Treasury also expects to unveil the “Whole Loan Asset Manager” in the next few days, which will both manage and sell the loans purchased by the Treasury.

Here's why you care: Once these are in place, the Treasury will be much closer to actually doing the things each manager/custodian is meant to do, and thus the financial institutions who chose to play will be that much closer to moving assets off their books. You will see in news stories that this will "increase liquidity" - which is to say the banks will have more cash. Banks with more cash, are more likely to lend to each other, and to you.

Want to read all of Mr. Kashkari’s speech? Click here.

Why You Care also appreciates the Institute of International Bankers for accommodating the number of press present - which seemed to rival the number of bankers.

Tracking the $700 Billion Rescue Package - All the Way to a Breakfast Meeting

Why You Care is trying to go to Treasury Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari's morning meeting and discussion about the financial rescue plan. Mr. Kashkari as you will recall is in charge of the $700 billion package at Treasury which Congress approved, and President Bush signed into law. What's that mean?

It means Mr. Kashkari is the man who will ultimate figure out how to buy, sell, hold all the problem assets that are creating the banking industry's acid reflux - which in turn made the economy ill.

Why You Care will report back after the breakfast meeting.

Understanding How Banks Lend to Banks (and thus the Credit Crisis) - Plus, Could Congress Save Christmas?

When you read that there is a credit crisis, you are probably thinking that means you can't get a mortgage. You're half right. What that means is that the banks are unwilling to lend to each other because they are not sure who is going to fall next. THAT's what is behind the rescue legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. BUT, you're still half right, because when banks won't lend to each other they certainly aren't going to lend to small businesses or you - the home owner. It gets a bit more complicated and you've probably seen terms like LIBOR (which we've posted an explanation on before) and TED being used in articles that are normally deep in the business pages, but now finding themselves on the front page, every day.

Here's why you care: LIBOR is the term for the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. Because the amount of money is so large, overnight rates, short term rates, longer term rates are all different in order for the lending bank to make money based on the perceived risk of the loan. CNNMoney.com has a terrific explanation as to how all of this works, and why there is a bit of good news in here. Reading this piece will make you smarter and feel less at sea.

Meanwhile, could Congress save Christmas? It looks like what we've been hearing is now making its way to the New York Times - that there's a good chance for a second stimulus package. In other words, Congress may send you - the taxpayer - more money. The question is in what form. The New York Times has a terrific write on this.

Here's why you care: Get ahead of the curve and read this story because when Congress comes back the fight will be in what form, rebates, tax cuts, etc. And, as always, what else will go into the bill to convince lawmakers sitting on the fence about it.

Next Week's News Today (The Last Presidential Debate Amidst Major Earnings Announcements)

If it's Thursday, then it's time for Next Week's News Today, where we put together a futures calendar of earnings announcements, economic reports and political events for terrific news hooks to exam the economy and politics.

The calendar below has a lot of data on it, don't be overwhelmed. Here's how you can make sense of all the news hooks below:

First, on Monday the world gets to hear for the first time from the man who is in charge of the $700 billion rescue program at Treasury... Neel Kashkari - the Treasury Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability. He's speaking at 8a ET, which means that will likely drive much of the markets and financial reporting throughout the day. (Click here for Treasury's press release).

Second, there are so many earnings due next week that the focus will mostly get put on well known stocks and the financial industry in order to effectively measure just how the economy is doing. That means: Charles Schwab (Monday); Intel, Johnson & Johnson, and Pepsi (Tuesday); Coke, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo (Wednesday); AMD, Capitol One, CIT Group, Citi, Continental, Google, IBM, Southwest (Thursday). (We'd read a piece looking at whether Domino's does better or worse in a tough economy, hey, we'd watch that piece too - practicaly produces itself).

Third, since a number of regional banks are due to report next week, look for coverage on the health of local banks - not just the ones reporting, but OVERALL. This is an area that deserves more coverage, and next week will offer a great news peg.

Fourth, the last presidential debate is next week (Thursday), and the focus is on the economy and domestic issues. You might think that you've heard enough from the candidates on the economy over the last two debates, but you'd be wrong to think Thursday will be more of the same. Where the prior debates had to fit in the economy along with war/terrorism, Thursday night gives Bob Schieffer the chance to really drill down on economic policy. And guess what? If I'm a candidate trailing in the polls, and I've got one last national debate where I know everyone is watching, wouldn't I use all the weapons in my quiver? That's why Thursday will be both important and interesting.

Lastly, keep a look out over the weekend and on Monday for coverage of the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting. Boring you say? Not a chance, Wall Street will be listening. The reason is the market wants stability, or the promise of stability. Today's Washington Post business page cover story had Treasury Secretary Paulson trying not to raise expectations about the meeting, but rather down playing the need to hammer out an agreement among the G7, saying what has been done is enough, and now what's needed is patience. Watch to see if that story line stays the course through Monday.

MONDAY 10/13
Earnings: Charles Schwab Corp.; Chipotle Mexican Grill; Equity Lifestyle Properties

Economic Events: Treasury Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari discusses the financial markets and the economic rescue package before the Institute of International Bankers in Washington, DC.


TUESDAY 10/14
Earnings: Altera Corp.; Champion Enterprises Inc.; CSX Corp; Domino's Pizza; Genentech Inc.; Health Care Services Group Inc.; Integra Bank Corp.; Intel Corp; Johnson & Johnson; Linear Technology Corp.; PepsiCo Inc.; Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc.; Seagate Technology


WEDNESDAY 10/15
Earnings: Abbott Labs; BlackRock Inc.; Coca-Cola; Commerce Bancshares; Intersil Corp.; JP Morgan Chase; Kinder Morgan Partners; Knight Capital Group; Novellus Systems; Sovereign Banc; Steel Dynamics; WD-40 Company; Wells Fargo;

Economic Reports: Business Inventories (for August); Producer Price Index (PPI)[this measures the average change in price for domestically produced goods] (for September); Retail Sales (for September)

Politics: 2nd Presidential Debate - moderated by Bob Schieffer. Format: Where the first presidential debate was on foreign policy and national security, this debate will focus on the economy and domestic policy. Each candidate will be allowed two minutes to answer a question, followed by a five-minute discussion. The candidates will also be give two minutes for closing statements.


THURSDAY 10/16
Earnings: Advance Micro Devices; AMB Property; Bank of New York Mellon; BB&T Corp.; Capitol One Financial Corp.; CIT Group; Citigroup; Continental Airlines; Fairchild Semiconductor; Google; Hershey Foods; Huntington Bancshares; IBM; Merrill Lynch; Nokia; PNC Bank; Reliance Steel; Sherwin-Williams; Sonoco Products; Southwest Airlines; Sunpower; United Technologies; Winnebago Industries; Zions Bancorporation

Economic Reports: Consumer Price Index (CPI) (for September) [this measures the average change in what consumers paid for goods/services] ; Industrial Production (for September); Initial (unemployment) Claims


FRIDAY 10/17
Earnings: Amcol International Corp.; Comerica Inc.; Downey Financial; First Horizon; Genuine Parts; Honeywell International; NVR Inc.; Overstock.com; MB Financial; Wilmington Trust;

Economic Reports: Building Permits (for September); Housing Starts (for September)

What the Crisis Means for You And More Mortgage Trouble

Two stories for you today... One will answer some of the basic questions our friends have been asking us. The other puts you ahead of the curve.

Answering Questions -
Money Magazine and CNN.com have posted together a terrific utilitarian piece called: What this Economy Means for You.

Here's why you care: The piece is broken up into sections that are stand alone capsules so you can click on the areas you are interested in, and ignore the rest. The options are: The Economy, the Stock Market, Your Savings, Insurance, Real Estate Market, Job Market, and Your Retirement. Really a nice job both in the information provided, and in the production - it is just simply easy to use.

Ahead of the Curve -
The next wave? More mortgage trouble. The Wall Street Journal reports today that one in six homeowners - yes one out of a six pack - are underwater with their homes. In other words, they owe the bank more than they can sell their house for.

Here's why you care: The article is so well written for the non-MBA set, our favorite question is answered in the second paragraph: "The result of homeowners being "under water" is more pressure on an economy that is already in a downturn. No longer having equity in their homes makes people feel less rich and thus less inclined to shop at the mall."

You need to read this article.

Manic Monday European Style

Waking up this morning, Why You Care found the European markets down, and knew it would be a tough day for U.S. investors.

Here's why you care: The U.S. market is reacting to the European market, which ironically is reacting to its own government for not doing what the U.S. government did: get ahead of the game by putting together an economic rescue package. Dizzy yet? To put it another way, the European market is upset with their own collective governments for not reacting more quickly to the credit crisis. Is there good news here? Maybe, maybe not. The New York Times has a fresh piece that lays out what European governments have done, and what they may do. Since this impacts you directly, it's worth a few minutes of your time.

Govinator to Treasury Secretary Paulson: Spare a Few Billion Baby? (Feds to Pay CA State Workers?)

BIG News in California - the LA Times reports that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has told Treasury Secretary Paulson that California may need a $7 Billion loan in order to state workers. Why? Because the country's economic conditions are such that banks are not lending money. That means those that depend on loans can't get them. AND California isn't the only state in this situation. This is what supporters of the economic rescue language feared would happen in the market place. Once the banks stop lending, it creates a domino effect.

Here's why you care: Way back in June of this year, close to when we started this website, we pointed out that you need to care about a boring thing called bonds. Bonds, as we explained, are how most public works (buildings, schools, roads) get built. Basically bonds are loans. But, unlike a loan where you walk into a bank and apply for a loan, a bond is basically given out by the person who needs money. They put their terms down on a piece of paper and send it around the market place for those looking to make a loan and collect a return. It would be like a potential homeowner writing down that they'd like a $300,000 mortgage at 6%, and then taking that to the local supermarket and saying here are my terms, any takers? Thus, the state of California writes down its terms and sends it to Wall Street (the bond supermarket).

BUT, as we pointed out back in June, when times are tough people will only grab that bond if it is as better terms for the person lending the money. Or in the worst case (as in right now) no one wants to lend. Thus California has two choices, go for a buy at an incredibly high interest rate which would require RAISING TAXES on its citizens. OR, ask the federal government for help.

Next Week's News Today (Main Street's Economic Angst and Presidential Debates)

If it's Thursday, then it's time for Next Week's News Today. Last week we were once again dead on in our prediction for the week's business/political news cycle. We, however, did NOT predict that the Senate would beat the House to passing the economic rescue package. What a week.

This coming week is interesting for a few different reasons. First, there are a number of economic reports which will be used as news pegs within the context of whether things are getting worse or better despite having past the rescue legislation. However, it will be technically inaccurate for any of the economic reports next week to hang the burden on the legislation, the reason being is that the reports will be data from August and/or September. Thus, not post passage. That's important to remember when reading the news next week.

The news hooks to exam the economy will be Tuesday's reports on consumer credit and the minutes from September's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC - you'll see this acronym pop up next week). Furthermore, pending home sales for August will be out on Wednesday, and unemployment numbers on Thursday. Both will get attention, and both will be just in time for Thursday night's presidential debate moderated by Tom Brokaw.

Thursday's debate is important for the odd reason that style will impact substance. What do we mean? We mean that it is a town hall format. Both presidential candidates will be tested in a way they weren't quite last time in that they'll have to play the role of explaining the economy in real and basic terms. The danger for voters is getting a bumper sticker answer. The benefit is that you may get more details.

Assignment desk editors everywhere will be pondering the same question for ways to explain the economy to their readers/viewers, and next week offers them three easy swings at the answer: Earnings for Safeway on Tuesday, earnings for Costco on Wednesday, and earnings for GE on Friday. Each are basic companies that middle America can relate to, thinking back to a prior election, we'd call the demographic the "soccer moms". Creative journalists will be able to show in visual ways for Costco and Safeway just how America is doing amidst economic angst. GE is a tougher nut to crack to be sure, but the number of employees, and its ability to take the Dow up and down are key aspects to making their earnings matter to those focused on making a house payment, and worrying about college.

As always, notable events are broken down by days below.

MONDAY 10/6
Earnings: 0

Economic Reports: 0


TUESDAY 10/7
Earnings: Alcoa; Safeway; YUM! Brands;

Economic Reports: Consumer Credit; Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes from September 16


WEDNESDAY 10/8
Earnings: Costco Wholesale Corp.; Monsanto Co.; Progressive Corp.

Economic Reports: Pending Home Sale for August; Crude Inventories


THURSDAY 10/9
Earnings: RPM Intl Inc.; SLM Corp

Economic Reports: Initial (Unemployment) Claims; Wholesale Inventories

Politics: 2nd Presidential Debate - moderated by Tom Brokaw. Format: All topics fair game in a town hall style, with two minute answers and one minute follow-up discussions.


FRIDAY 10/10
Earnings: GE

Economic Reports: Export Prices for September (except Agricultural); Import Prices for September (except for Oil); Trade Balance for August