What's Going on This Week....

Monday Feb 25

-- Lowe's Companies and Nordstrom report earnings, shedding more light on consumer spending. Lowe's is expected to post a 56% drop in fourth-quarter earnings per share, Nordstrom a slight drop.

-- Fed Governor Randall Kroszner will discuss risk management at the Global Association of Risk Professionals Annual Risk Convention in New York.

-- Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin discusses stabilizing inflation in Greenville, N.C.

Tuesday Feb 26

-- H.J. Heinz is expected to report earnings of 66 cents a share, flat from a year ago. Retailers Home Depot and Macy's are likely to post declines of 14% and 4%, respectively.

-- The January producer price index, offering the latest read on inflation, is expected to jump 0.4%, while the core index adds only 0.2%.

-- Analysts will ponder "The Future of Coal-Fired Power Generation: What Does the Market Think?" during a seminar presented by the New York Society of Security Analysts.

-- Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn will discuss the economy and monetary policy at the University of North Carolina.

-- Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Veroneau will discuss "The Challenges of Global Sovereign Investment" at a meeting in New York sponsored by the U.S. Council for International Business.

Wednesday Feb 27

-- Fed Chairman Bernanke delivers his semi-annual testimony on monetary
policy before the House Financial Services Committee.

-- The horrid housing market is expected to produce a first-quarter loss of
44 cents a share for Toll Brothers, down from a 33-cent gain last year.

-- Analysts estimate durable goods sales fell by 3.5% in January, a big
change from December's 5.2% increase.

-- Keefe, Bruyette & Woods opens its two-day regional bank conference in
Boston.

-- Wachovia kicks off its three-day homebuilding and building-products
conference in Las Vegas.

Thursday Feb 28

-- The first read on the fourth quarter's gross domestic product is
reported, with analysts expecting a rise of only 0.7%.

-- Fed Chairman Bernanke makes his second presentation on monetary policy,
this time before the Senate Banking panel.

-- American International Group is expected to announce fourth-quarter
earnings after the market closes. It previously disclosed that outside
accountants were forcing a $5.2 billion write-down for the third quarter.
Investors wonder if there will be more.

-- Robbins & Myers will split its stock two-for-one.

-- Genoptix is expected to sell 4.2 million shares held by existing
shareholders through Lehman Brothers.

Friday Feb 29

-- January's personal income growth is expected to fall to 0.2%, from 0.5%
in December, while consumer spending is expected to remain at 0.2%.

-- Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart discusses subprime mortgages.

-- Treasury auctions: M63