Hello fellow monkeys !

After a choppy week during which indexes closed at all-time highs, the situation can be described as okay despite a slowing growth. Some bankers would still want more credit as a sign of financial stability along with more trading volume. On the economic side, the data reported was, again, disappointing (especially with a lowest consumer sentiment in nine months). On the commodity side, prices have been dropping from oil to minerals. This might chance, especially considering a presidential election coming up in Venezuela, a large oil producer. This coming week might reverse this recent economic slump with earnings season kicking off.

You will find more economic releases and data after the break !

Hello fellow monkeys !

After what has been called a disappointing week ending with poor jobs and payroll reports, some argue that the bull market is running out of steam. This view is supported by the fact that this quarter's best performers are companies in healthcare and utilities, a shift towards defensive stocks indicating a trend towards more caution. This is where the Fed might step in to invigorate the economy. Indeed, a dozen speeches by Fed officers, including two by Bernanke will take place this week and potentially try to cheer the markets up. Another major factor is the unofficial beginning of earnings season with JPM and Wells Fargo's Q1 reports. As of this quarter, analysts expect earnings to have risen by a conservative 1.5%, down from a 4.3% expected increase at the beginning of the year.

More economic releases and data after the break !

Hello fellow monkeys !

What's next after last week's record breaking sessions ? Some argue that the SPX and DJIA will be going down, or as an S&P strategist says, "upward moves have generally gotten smaller, which suggests that the move is getting old and that we need a pullback." An indicator of this trend is volatility; the VIX index is up 14.5% over the last two weeks. On the brighter side, however, an estimated 197,000 jobs have been added in March, according to economists. This is a lower figure than last month but would still keep the unemployment at 7.7%. The official figure will be announced on Friday. On top of that, this upcoming week showcases some important indicators for the real estate industry.

As usual, the economic data and releases for this week are after the break.

Hi fellow monkeys,

This week, most of the attention will be on Cyprus. It starts on Monday with the deadline for a new ECB-Cyprus deal. If this deal goes through, Reuters speculates that stocks could go beyond the indexes' all-time closing highs given European policymakers find a common ground to deal with the island's situation. On Tuesday and Wednesday, South Africa will be hosting the BRICS summit where some expect the leading developing countries to lay the groundwork for a BRICS-led development bank to rival the World Bank and the IMF. Later, the week will end with the third Q4 US GDP estimate on Thursday and closed US equity markets on Friday.

More economic releases and data after the break !

Hi fellow monkeys,

According to a Reuters article, the S&P/DJIA growth we've seen since the beginning of 2013 is not coming to an end, even though it will probably remain slow. With a forward PE 9% below the October 2007 value at the S&P 500's all time high, analysts judge US equities to be fairly cheap. When compared to other assets such as bonds, equities are not expensive at all. When factoring in the low interest rates and increasing dividend payouts, stocks are still the best asset under the sun.

The week ahead is also rich in releases and economic data. (More after the break.)

Hey fellow monkeys,

Why haven't you taken that job in the field you love ? Well, according to Daniel Gulati in his HBR article, your college degree could be a much greater influence on your decisions that what you'd think, and not necessarily in a good sense. Even though academic and professional credentials can be a great fit fore many, Gulati identifies a major problem related to these degrees :

So why would you want to reconsider that B-school application ? The author sees three reasons for this.

Hello fellow monkeys !

BlackBerry is changing. After losing 80% of its market value over the last two years, the Canadian company is finally trying to do something right. It started early this month with a ticker change from the old RIMM to BBRY and the release of the new BlackBerry Z10. Their attempt to turn the company around will continue with a likely change in the company name at the shareholder's GA later this year, but that will not be enough to save BlackBerry.