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The Week In Review (August 13, 2007) : What To Watch For

After all the volatility and talk of a global crumble, all of the major U.S. stock indices posts gains last week.  It just goes to show you what a strange roller coaster ride we're all on.

Last week, the market bounced its way through:

1. The Fed's press release stating that inflation is still a concern
2. Central banks around the world injecting gobs of cash into the global economy
3. A French bank halting withdrawals in several funds until the "true" value of the assets can be determined
4. Bleak outlooks from several high-profile U.S.-based lenders

And none of those items were based on scheduled economic data releases.

This week, by contrast, hosts a bevy of economic growth predictors that will hit the wires.  Continuing with today's Retail Sales report, mortgage rate shoppers will get no rest from the recent see-saw action. 

Tuesday and Wednesday feature six releases between them, Thursday holds three, and Friday is capped with the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey.

Until mortgage bond risk is re-valued by Wall Street, though, expect the data's normal importance to be somewhat muted.  Rates should respond more to external factors like the ones we saw last week.

(Image courtesy: Pacific National Exhibition)