Next Week's News Today (Budget Hearing Bonanza Edition)

It's time for Next Week's News Today where we publish our weekly calendar of earnings, reports, hearings and political events which will either drive the news, or deserve more attention. Last week we were correct to say that the bank stress tests and congressional testimony from Fed. Chmn. Ben Bernanke and the President's Economic Advisory Board Chmn. Paul Volcker would drive the market and the news (in addition to the obvious conclusion that the week would be filled with analysis of President Obama address to Congress).

This coming week will be all about the budget with Chmn. Bernanke, Treasury Secy. Geithner and the director of the Office of Management and Budget making multiple trips to Capitol Hill. As of now there are seven congressional hearings this coming week devoted to the budget. Additionally, you'll see a TARP hearing and an accountability hearing on stimulus spending noted below. All of which should generate excellent coverage.

We'll definitely be watching, you should too. We do caution that you check back to WhyYouCare.com for updates on scheduling.

Here's why you care about next week's trends in earnings and reports:

MONDAY 3/2
Earnings: Allied Capital, American Capital, Ares Capital, BPZ Energy, DISH Network, Edison, Fannie Mae, Franklin Electric, First Industrial Realty, Kenneth Cole, Pepco Holdings, Sun Healthcare, TiVo, Tower Group.

Economic Reports: Construction spending (for Jan.); Federal Reserve releases weekly interest rates information; Personal income and outlays (for Jan.).

Speech: NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, National Press Club on "What Public Broadcasting can learn from commercial media... and vice versa."


TUESDAY 3/3
Earnings: America's Car-Mart, AutoZone, Jackson Hewitt, MBIA Inc., Patriot Capital Funding, Reliant Energy, URS, Verifone, Virgin Mobile USA.

Economic Report: Car/truck sales (for Feb.); Pending home sales (for Jan.).

Hearings:
House Ways and Means Cmte. on the proposed 2010 budget. Witness: Treas. Secy. Timothy Geithner.

Senate Budget Cmte. on budget challenges. Witness: Federal Reserve Board Chmn. Ben Bernanke.

House Budget Cmte. on the proposed 2010 budget. Witness: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Dir. Peter R. Orszag.

Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Cmte. on consumer protections in financial services.

House Judiciary Subcmte's Commercial and Administrative Law Subcmte. on "Circuit City Unplugged: Why Did Chapter 11 Fail to Save 34,000 Jobs?" [EDITOR'S NOTE, AS OF 3/2 THIS IS POSTONED.]


WEDNESDAY 3/4
Earnings: ABM Industries, Allis-Chalmers Energy, BJ's Wholesale, Costco, Cox Radio, Cross Country, Dynamex, Foot Locker, Monaco Coach, PETsMART, U.S. Concrete, Weight Watchers.

Economic Reports: Federal Reserve releases the "Beige Book" (economic conditions report); Weekly mortgage applications report.

Hearings:
Senate Finance Cmte. on the proposed 2010 budget. Witness: Treas. Secy. Timothy Geithner.

Senate Budget Cmte. on budget challenges. Witness: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Dir. Peter Orszag (9:30a ET).

House Ways and Means Cmte. on the proposed 2010 budget. Witness: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Dir. Peter Orszag (2p ET).

House Financial Services Cmte's Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcmte. on "TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program] Oversight: Is TARP Working for Main Street?"
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Cmte. on "Where Were the Watchdogs? Systemic Risk and the Breakdown of Financial Governance."

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Cmte's Permanent Investigations Subcmte. on "Tax Haven Banks and U.S. Tax Compliance - Obtaining the Names of U.S. Clients With Swiss Accounts."


THURSDAY 3/5
Earnings: Alliant Energy, Bankrate, bebe stores, Belden, Belo, Brookfield Properties, Bunge, Burger King, CIGNA, Cincinnati Bell, Cincinnati Financial Corp, Diamond Management, Diamond Offshore, Duke Energy, Earthlink, Echelon, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, Evercore, Hartford Financial, Imperial Sugar, Infinity Property & Casualty, Kellog, Kimco Realty, Knoll, M/I Homes, Mastercard, McClatchy, Moody's, Prestige Brands, Sonoco Products, Tenneco, Timberland, Warner Music Group, Western Union.

Economic Report: Initial unemployment claims (for 2/28).

Hearings:
House Budget Cmte. on the Treasury Dept.'s 2010 budget. Witness: Treas. Secy. Timothy Geithner.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Cmte. on stimulus spending accountability. Witnesses: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Dir. Peter Orszag. and Govt. Accountability Office Acting Dir. Eugene Dodaro.

House Financial Services Cmte's Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcmte. on monitoring risk in the financial services industry.

Senate Finance Cmte's U.S. Trade Representative confirmation hearing for Roland Kirk. [EDITOR'S NOTE, AS OF 3/2 THIS IS POSTPONED TO MONDAY 3/9.]


FRIDAY 3/6
Earnings: H & R Block.

Economic Reports: Bank assets and liabilities (Federal Reserve weekly data); Consumer credit (measuring debt for Jan.); Hourly earnings (for Feb.); Unemployment rate (for Feb.)