economic reports

You can't go back and you can't stand still If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will ~The Grateful Dead.

Gloomy economic reports continue to pervade our daily news. It has me wondering if the problems on Wall Street will eventually trickle down to the tech sector or if by some miracle it will somehow escape the current crisis.

Certainly, if the credit crunch were to continue, it would begin to wear on every business, regardless of the sector, but if the bail out passes and credit loosens technology could be just fine.

In fact, content management vendors could come out of the...

Investors examine the same key economic reports at the start of every month — on manufacturing, the service sector and employment.

This week, they'll be looking at these indicators for inflation clues as much as they will for insight into economic growth.

COMPANY REPORTS It is a light week for earnings, with reports coming from Tiffany and Walgreen (Monday); SAIC (Tuesday); Oracle (Wednesday); the Apollo Group, ConAgra Foods, Lennar and Red Hat (Thursday); and KB Home (Friday).

Wall Street finished mixed Friday as lackluster economic reports offered investors little incentive to place big bets ahead of a long weekend.

Disappointing data on manufacturing, consumer confidence and import prices reminded investors the economy is struggling.

As a result, a week that began with a rally closed on a subdued note.