It's a relatively quiet week on the earnings front with only 50 companies scheduled to report, including a smattering of retailers and food companies. Only 2 S&P 500 members are on tap to report including Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) and National Semiconductor (NSM).

The economic calendar is also quiet to start the first "real" trading week in September, as Wall Street comes back from August vacations. It's a shortened trading week due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday.

Monday: Markets closed for Labor Day Tuesday: ICSC-Goldman Store Sales, Redbook Wednesday: Beige Book Thursday: International trade, weekly jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories, weekly crude inventories Friday: Import and export prices, University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for September, Treasury budget Volume is likely to return to more "normal" levels to start the week. Despite recent weakness in the markets, the bulls remain in charge. Wall Street will also be watching trading

...

With just 51 companies scheduled to report, economic news will be at the forefront. The only S&P 500 members on the earnings calendar are Brown Foreman (BF.B) and Ciena (CIEN)

The economic calendar is pretty packed with the August ISM surveys, August employment data and minutes from the last Fed meeting all scheduled to be released. Adding to the potential volatility will be light volume, particularly on Friday afternoon as many traders leave early for the holiday.

Monday: August Chicago PMI Tuesday: August ISM manufacturing index, August auto sales, July construction spending, July pending home sales Wednesday: August ADP employment survey, August Fed minutes, July factory orders, revised Q2 productivity, weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage applications Thursday: August ISM services index, weekly initial jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories Friday: August unemployment rate and nonfarm payrolls

No Fed officials are scheduled to speak.

The U.S. financial markets will be closed on Monday,

...

There really isn't much on the financial calendar to move stocks in either direction.

Fewer than 20 companies are scheduled to report. The only S&P 500 member on the calendar is Campbell Soup (CPB).

Upcoming economic data will include August retail sales and preliminary September consumer confidence numbers. Given the lackluster August numbers recently given by retailers, I'm not expecting either report to be particularly optimistic.

The week's economic schedule includes: Monday: July consumer credit Tuesday: July pending home sales, July wholesale inventories Wednesday: Weekly crude inventories Thursday: July trade deficit, August import and export prices, weekly initial jobless claims Friday: August Producer Price Index, August retail sales, preliminary September University of Michigan consumer sentiment, July business inventories

The Federal Reserve's website does not list any upcoming speeches.

The weather remains a wildcard with Hurricane Ike heading towards the Bahamas. If the storm should pass into the Gulf of Mexico, oil futures could

...