Next Week's News Today (Cabinet News, Christmas Shopping - Retail Woes, New Homes Sales and Unemployment Numbers)

If it's Thursday (so it is Friday, and we're really late), 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, once again, we were right on earnings (retail in particular) and ink spent on the next cabinet.

Last week we suggested someone would break the name for Treasury Secretary. Voila - as we type that name has surfaced: Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Here's why you care: Our suggestion that the administration go farther and name the team that will make the key decisions on financial recovery (the assistant secretaries) did not happen. We still think THAT STORY remains a big deal. Who breaks it will drive the markets. You can see how the markets responded at the end of today to Geithner's name. We think journalists will be looking to nail down the team itself. Will the administration help them? We'll guess yes... At least floated names.

We note that the FDIC this week really did something remarkable - they posted the entire model for their IndyMac loan modification plan. What's that mean? When the FDIC took over IndyMac it created a model for how it would deal with people up the creek on their mortgage payments. They think they've got a good working model, and now they are sharing it with everyone. Why You Care spoke with the FDIC, and we can report they are incredibly user friendly - check out their model, it deserves more attention.

Here's why you care: What's really going on here is the FDIC model showcased this week is voluntary. But, the FDIC has a different plan, that's currently a proposal where it helps homeowners the same way it basically does in the IndyMac model - PLUS - an enticement for those institutions who service the mortgages. What that means is money, and the FDIC would like some to get mortgage servicers in a better position to work out loans. Congress is watching - and this will get more attention next week.

Meanwhile, here's why you care about next week's trends in coverage:

Christmas Shopping Begins: Look for lots of stories through out the week on retail woes. American Eagle also reports (11/25).

Other Big Name to watch: Hewlett-Packard (11/24).

Interesting self explanatory news pegs: Zale (11/25) and Tiffany & Co. (11/26).

Reports: Existing Home Sales (11/24); New Home Sales and Unemployment Claims (11/26).

As always earnings, events, reports by day are below:

MONDAY 11/24
Earnings: Allied Healthcare; Campbell Soup; Hewlett-Packard

Reports: Existing Homes Sales (for October)


TUESDAY 11/25
Earnings: American Eagle; Daktronics; Dollar Tree; Genesco; Hormel Foods; Talbots, TiVo; Warner Music Group; Zale

Reports: Consumer Confidence (for November); Third Quarter GDP


WEDNESDAY 11/26
Earnings: Deere; Fred's; Tiffany & Co.

Economic Reports: Durable Orders (for October); Initial Unemployment Claims (for 11/22); New Home Sales; Personal Income (for October); Personal Spending (for October)

THURSDAY 11/27 - Holiday

FRIDAY 11/28 - Look for TV news stories on retail shopping numbers