Earnings started positively this week after the biggest mining group BHP Billiton posted today record earnings and increased dividend. Another interesting earnings this week I will be watching are Hewlett Packard and Home Depot.Monday:Economic NAEarnings BHP Billiton (BHP), Lowe’s (LOW), Trina Solar (TSL)Tuesday:Economic Housing Starts & Bldg P’s (963K, 949K), PPI & Core (0.6%, 0.2%)Earnings Home Depot (HD), Medtronic (MDT), ReneSola (SOL), Saks (SKS), Target (TGT), Analog Devices (ADI), Hewlett (HPQ), Open Text (OTEX), DryShips (DRYS)Wednesday:Economic Weekly CrudeEarnings BJ’s (BJ), Ross Stores (ROST), Suntech (STP), Citi Trends (CTRN), Gymboree (GYMB), Limited (LTD), JD Uniphase (JDSU), Salesforce (CRM)Thursday:Economic Weekly Claims, Leading Indicators (-0.2%), Philly Fed (-14.1)Earnings Barnes & Noble (BKS), Burger King (BKC), Children’s Place (PLCE), Dick’s Sport (DKS), Gamestop (GME), Heinz (HNZ), Hormel (HRL), Patterson (PDCO), Toro (TTC), Aeropostale (ARO), Blue Coat (BCSI), Intuit ...

Dow components Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Home Depot (HD) headline the last official week of second-quarter earnings season. Joining them will be S&P 500 members Gap (GPS), Lowe's (LOW), Limited (LTD) and Target (TGT).

Overall, we have confirmed reports from 106 companies, 13 of which are in the S&P 500. Retailers will again be prominent, with 40 listed to release results.

There is not much on the economic calendar, though we will get inflation numbers on Tuesday. Key data will include: Tuesday: July producer prices (PPI), July housing starts, July building permits Wednesday: Weekly crude inventories Thursday: July Leading Indicators, August Phili Fed survey, weekly initial jobless claims

The Kansas City Fed will hold its economic symposium at Jackson Hole, WY. Fed Chairman Fed Ben Bernanke will speak about financial stability on Friday.

Volume could be modest through Labor Day as traders try to get in late

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