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On the Earnings Front in the USA

BIG, DELL, HNZ, SHLD, SPLS,

75 companies have been confirmed to report, included are 6 members of the S&P 500: Analog Devices NASDAQ:ADI, Big Lots NYSE:BIG, Dell NASDAQ:DELL, Heinz NYSE:HNZ, Sears Holding NASDAQ:SHLD, and Staples NASDAQ:SPLS.

Internal changes at Dell have allowed the company to top expectations for 4 consecutive Quarters. One of the 22 covering brokerage analysts believe the computer maker can extend the streak to 5 and raised his forecast to 0.37 per share, three cents above the consensus forecast. Dell is scheduled to report Thursday, 29 November after the close of trading.

Sears Holdings missed earnings expectations twice during the past 4 Quarters. Ahead of the company’s third-quarter report, brokerage analysts are becoming more pessimistic. Negative revisions from 4 out of the 5 covering analysts have caused the Quarterly consensus estimate to fall 0.09 to 0.52 per share. The most accurate consensus is slightly more bearish at 0.51 per share. Sears Holdings is scheduled to report Thursday, 29 November, before the open.

On the Economic Front in the USA

Investors returning from Thanksgiving holidays will be greeted by retail numbers from the weekend shopping activity in the US.

The National Retail Federation predicted in September that sales would rise 4% this season. The Consumer Federation’s recently released survey suggested a higher proportion of people would decrease their holiday spending.

According to ShopperTrak, Black Friday accounted for $8.96-B in sales last year, while the entire Thanksgiving weekend accounted for $18.1-B.

The International Council of Shopping Centers estimates that Thanksgiving weekend usually accounts for 10% of holiday sales. Total Thanksgiving weekend sales should total between $18.6 and $18.73-B.

The Conference Board will release its November consumer confidence index Tuesday. Weekly retail sales data will also be released.

Staying with the economic data, October durable goods orders and October existing home sales data will be published Wednesday.

Thursday will feature revised Q-3 GDP numbers.

The November Chicago PMI, October personal spending, October personal income and October construction spending data will be released Friday.