Next Week's News Today (Politics and Economics Collide to Drive the Markets - Who Drives Treasury's Rescue Engine for Obama?)

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 economic reports would drive the market along with selected earnings (in addition to the election, but we all knew that). We were also right to point out there would be a rush to cover the next administration's cabinet.

This coming week it is a no-brainer to say that naming of President-elect Obama's Treasury Secretary will drive the markets. However, what may be less obvious to non-financial reporters is the importance of what happens to the five assistant Treasury Secretaries which the New York Times' Mark Lander profiled this week as being the folks making the call between winners and losers of the $700 billion rescue package.

Here's why you care: The market craves stability and forward thinking. There's a lot of institutional money sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how things shake out. So, along with a new financial team, we are hoping the Obama transition team makes a point of explaining whether they keep the gang of five in place, or who replaces them, and if they are replaced does that mean the new folks will start shadowing the gang of five immediately?

Today we read Anne Kornblut's and David Cho's Washington Post transition team piece with great interest along with the rest of America. But, the folks that have the ability to REALLY move the markets are looking for the story about who is going to be quarterbacking the rescue package in a hands on way (meaning assistants/deputies), and if they are not the same folks presently making the calls, then what's the plan to not reinvent the wheel. The news outlet that nails that story will likely drive the market in a more profound way than any other story next week.

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

Big Names: Wal-Mart (11/13) is not just retail but an easy metaphor for "Main Street" America during good times and bad. You've already seen a few stories in the papers this week, but expect more this Sunday and next week as the earnings report nears.

Retail: The October numbers for Retail Sales are out 11/14, meanwhile American Apparel (11/10); Liz Claiborne (11/11); Macy's (11/12); Kohl's, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Wal-Mart (11/13); Abercrombie and JC Penny (11/15) provide a good snapshot for retail woes going into the the holiday season.

Media: DISH Network and Sirius XM Radio (11/10)

Money: Fortress Investment (11/11) has already recently gotten press coverage for their efforts to pool investors and try to make lemonade out of the market's bottomless lemon barrel. They are likely to get more attention.

Press: Thomson Reuters (11/12) offers a look at the health of this journalistic business model.

Interesting self explanatory news pegs: Starbucks (11/10); Las Vegas Sands (11/12);

MONDAY 11/10
Earnings: Allied Capital; American Apparel; American Capital; American Casinos; American International Group; Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings; DISH Network; Focus Media; GLG Partners; Integra; Integra Bank; Nortel; Orbitz; Oriental Financial Group; Pike Electric; Regency Centers; Sempra Energy; Sirius XM Radio; Starbucks; Sterling Construction; Tyson Foods; Virgin Mobile USA; Warner Chilcott

Events: Booking Alert - The Kennedy Center will posthumously awards the Mark Twain Prize to George Carlin. Those performing: Richard Belzer, Lewis Black, Margaret Cho, Ben E. King, Denis Leary, Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling, Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Ben Stiller. Hard to envision comedians moving markets - however, we included this because we thought it might offer a creative way to book a regular news cast and get into political and economic issues in a way that might broaden an audience.


TUESDAY 11/11
Earnings: Bob Evans; Fortress Investment; Liz Claiborne; NGP Capital Resources; TJX Cos; Tyco;


WEDNESDAY 11/12
Earnings: Computer Sciences; Dr. Pepper Snapple; Green Mountain Coffee; Las Vegas Sands; Macy's; Meridian Bioscience; Network Appliance; Thomson Reuters; Targa Resources


THURSDAY 11/13
Earnings: Kohl's; Microsemi Corp; NG Resources; Nordstrom; Siemens AG; Urban Outfitters; Wal-Mart

Economic Reports: Initial Unemployment Claims; Trade Balance (for Sept.)

Events: Treasury's Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, John White, attends the Institute on Securities Regulation Conference in New York.


FRIDAY 11/14
Earnings: Abercrombie; General Steel; Hewitt Associates; JC Penny

Economic Reports: Business Inventories (for Sept.); Export Prices (for Oct.); Import Prices (for Oct.); Retail Sales (for Oct.)

SATURDAY 11/15
Events: President Bush convenes a 20 nation global economic summit in Washington, DC