The Week Ahead This Week: Focus on the Fed's Monetary Policy 1. Introduction 2. Earnings Releases 3. Economic Releases 4. Stock Splits 5. Initial Public Offerings 6. Disclaimer ***********************Our Sponsor************************* 1997: 8 techs +154%! 1998: 5 chips 200+%! 1999: +54% in 3 mos! Al Frank makes serious money in tech stocks. For example, during the 1998 Asian Contagion he bought AMAT (now +517%), AMD (+453%) and LSI (+454%). Get his brand-new report on today's "10 Favorite Tech Stocks" FREE with a 30-day trial: http://www.investools.com/c/ro/PRUD/WSC-prudTG1?s=S600-S601 *********************************************************** The Week Ahead 1. Introduction The coming week's Federal Reserve decision on interest rates will be the maim focal point of the financial markets. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged, as the economy continues to expand without signs of creeping inflation. Look for sustained rallies in the equity markets following the conclusion of the Fed's meeting on the 22nd. The dollar is also likely to benefit from the attractiveness of U.S. equity securities, with bonds tempering gains consequently. The Week Ahead is just one of the many great reasons for subscribing to the WallStreetCity website. Besides great industry group analysis and incredible stock analysis, you also get access to the world's most powerful stock screening tool on the planet, ProSearch - all in one subcription package. You can even get 30-day FREE trial of this service to make sure it suits you, so give us a try. Click below to take a 30-day FREE trial. http://subs.wallstreetcity.com/c/go/XPRO/WSC-xproTH3?s=S601&D=XWSC ____________________________________________________________ 2. Earnings Releases Although there are no truly market-impacting types of companies reporting earnings next week, several rapidly growing companies such as Sycamore Networks {SCMR} (Thursday), Intuit {INTU} (Tuesday), Finisar {FNSR} (Tuesday), Va Linux {LNUX} (Wednesday), Nvidia {NVDA} (Monday), Puma Technology {PUMA} (Thursday), and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts {KREM} (Monday) are reporting next week. Estimates call for Va Linux, Intuit, and Puma to lose $.15, $.09, and $.11, respectively, in their fourth quarters. On the fiber optic front, Sycamore is expected to have earned $.06 in its fourth quarter and estimates call for Finisar to have earned $.02 in its first quarter. For its third quarter, Nvidia is expected to earn $.26 after earning $.095, $.145, $.195, $.235 respectively (in order of occurrence) in its last four quarters. Nvidia's strong sequential earnings growth is even more impressive when considering that this graphics chipmaker has not yet started shipping chips for Microsoft's {MSFT} highly-anticipated X-box. The Xbox is an Internet device (slated for release next fall) that will offer game playing, Web access, and DVD capabilities. However, Microsoft did pay Nvidia $200 million as an advance in March. For a non-tech stock, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is expected to earn $.18 in its second quarter. To view the full slate of earnings releases, click the link below. http://www.wallstreetcity.com/news/earning_release.asp?week=2&type=2 To view more detailed information on The Week Ahead, click the link below and then click on The Week Ahead column. http://www.wallstreetcity.com/markets/markets_main.html ____________________________________________________________ 3. Economic Releases Next week's major economic data begins with Tuesday the 22nd's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) - the Federal Reserves policy-making arm - decision on interest rates. Market consensus is calling for the FOMC to maintain its 6.5 percent target for the fed funds rate, and 6 percent target for the discount rate. Look for a sustainable equity market rallies once the Fed announces its decision to leave rates intact.Jobless claims and durable goods orders are slated for release on the Thursday the 24th. Durable goods orders are expected to show a decline of 0.6 percent for the month of July, off sharply from a 9.7 percent increase in July. The week's major economic data closes out with the gross domestic product (GDP), GDP price deflator, a measure of inflation, and existing home sales. GDP is forecasted to post unchanged at 5.2 percent for the second quarter, with the GDP price deflator also posting unchanged at 2.5 percent for the quarter. Existing home sales are expected to have fallen to 5,200,000 units in July, off from 5,230,000 the prior month. REPORT DATE TIME ---------------------------------------------- FOMC Rate Decision 8/22 8:30 a.m. EDT Jobless Claims 8/24 8:30 a.m. EDT Durable Goods Orders 8/24 8:30 a.m. EDT GDP 8/25 8:30 a.m. EDT GDP Price Deflator 8/25 8:30 a.m. EDT Existing Home Sales 8/25 8:30 a.m. EDT _____________________________________________________________ 4. Stock Splits Four stocks are scheduled to split on Monday: Minimed, Inc. {MNMD}, Proxicom, Inc. {PROX}, and Silicon Image, Inc. {SIMG} will split 2-1, while Symmetricom, Inc. {SYMM} will split 3-2. To view more detailed information on stock splits, click the link below and then click on The Week Ahead column. http://www.wallstreetcity.com/markets/markets_main.html ____________________________________________________________ 5. Initial Public Offerings No IPOs are scheduled for next week. To view more detailed information on IPOs, click the link below and then click on The Week Ahead column. http://www.wallstreetcity.com/markets/markets_main.html ***********************Our Sponsor************************* Gilder, Collins & Navellier Agree: Buy This Tech Play Now! When best-of-breed advisors like Jim Collins, Louis Navellier, and George Gilder recommend the same Tech stock, maybe you should be buying it too. Gregory Spear provides consensus picks from top-rated investment superstars! FREE 30-day trial: http://www.investools.com/c/go/DENT/WSC-dentTK2?s=S600 *********************************************************** 6. Disclaimer WallStreetCity's The Week Ahead is published solely for informational purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any stock, mutual fund or other security. The information obtained from internal and external sources is considered reliable, but has not been independently verified for accuracy and completeness. WallStreetCity, its employees, and/or officers and directors, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned and may sell or buy such securities. Trading involves risk, including possible loss of principle and other losses. Trading results may vary. No representations are being made that these techniques will result in or guarantee profits in trading. Past performance is no indication of future results. REMOVE ME FROM THIS FREE EMAIL LIST To be removed from the email distribution list for the FREE WallStreetCity's The Week Ahead, simply click the link below and hit "Send" on the email that is launched. (Or copy and paste the email address below to a new outgoing email message and hit "Send" on the email that is launched). mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]