The Week Ahead: Buffett, Bullishness and a Little Bernanke

Rebecca Stropoli
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What better way to celebrate TGIF than to have Wall Street cap the week by hitting fresh new highs? Forget "sell in May," at least for now; the S&P 500 on Friday soared past 1,600 for the first time ever and the Dow touched 15,000 in early trade, ultimately closing just 27 points below that milestone. This came after Friday's jobs numbers blew past expectations (while hardly setting the BLS on fire) and following a week in which central banks, housing data, earnings and a historic Apple (AAPL) debt sale were in focus.

Credit: Reuters
Credit: Reuters

So why do we continue to rally in the face of "eh" economic data, higher taxes, the sequester and a dragging euro zone? What is fueling this most "unloved" rally? Are U.S. equities just the best choice out of a not-so-great bunch, which includes sliding metals and low-yielding bonds? Is the "spring swoon" yet to come?

Well, as Breakout's own Jeff Macke says, you might just want to "shut up and stay long" because "sometimes a bullish market is just a bullish market."

And from bullish markets to capitalist Woodstocks, we now turn our eyes to the big event of the weekend: Warren Buffett's yearly Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B) gathering in Omaha, where a 40,000-strong crowd of shareholders will go to hear the Oracle speak (and perhaps break out in song with some Nebraskan cheerleaders). This year special guest Doug Kass will be on-hand to represent the Berkshire short position. Our own Breakout crew is also expected to be there, so tune in this weekend for continuing coverage (which you can find on our homepage and here).

Of course not everybody will be Buffett-watching on Saturday. No, some will be horse-watching, as the 139th Kentucky Derby comes to Churchill Downs.

And what else should folks be watching out for during the weekend (and week) to come? Here are some of the highlights ahead for finance and news:

Saturday, May 4

  • Berkshire Hathaway shareholder's meeting in Omaha, Nebraska

  • Kentucky Derby

Sunday, May 5

  • China PMI composite

Monday, May 6

  • Three-year anniversary of the Flash Crash. Thanks for the memories; click here and you'll be taken right back. ("This is what happens to the bulls when they've got that exuberance!")

  • Companies that are scheduled to IPO this week: Armada Hoffler Properties, American Residential Properties, CYAN, Emerge Energy Services LP, PennyMac Financial Services, Receptos, Capitol Acquisition Corp. II, First NBC Bank Holding, Quintiles Transnational Holdings, TriState Capital Holdings

  • President Obama will meet South Korean president Park Geun-hye at the White House

  • Japan PMI composite

  • Earnings: Tyson Foods (TSN), Sysco (SYY), First Solar (FSLR)

  • Daily Ticker segments scheduled: Fracking Is 100% Safe: T. Boone Pickens; Slow China Growth Is Good for Its Economy: Stephen Roach; Gold Outlook with Marcus Grubb

  • Breakout segments scheduled: Backed by Buffett: Berkshire-Owned Cos. Tells Us What it's Like Having the Oracle on Their Side; Nasdaq technicals with Louise Yamada; Kiss ‘Em Goodbye: 3 Consumer Companies at Death’s Door

Tuesday, May 7

  • Annual meeting: Nokia (NOK)

  • Earnings: Disney (DIS), Electronic Arts (EA), Whole Foods (WFM), Zillow (Z), HSBC (HBC)

  • Data: Consumer credit

  • Auctions: 4-week bill, 3-year note

  • Breakout segments scheduled: Bill Bennett on whether college is worth it; Jim McCaughn on why he's bullish on economy/market

Wednesday, May 8

  • Shareholder meeting: Bank of America (BAC)

  • Data: Oil inventories, MBA mortgage applications

  • Auction: 10-year note

  • Key earnings: Toyota (TM), AOL (AOL), Wendy's (WEN), Green Mountain (GMCR), Groupon (GRPN), Monster Beverage (MNST), Tesla Motors (TSLA), NewsCorp (NWSA)

  • Fed speaker: Jeremy C. Stein

  • Annual Washington conference on the Americas, focusing on foreign policy

Thursday, May 9

  • Bank of England monetary policy announcement

  • Data: Weekly jobless claims, chain store sales, Fed balance sheet/money supply, natural gas inventories, wholesale inventories

  • Fed speaker: Jeffry Lacker

  • Shareholder meetings: Barclay's (BCS), Ford (F)

  • Earnings: Sony (SNE), Priceline (PCLN)

Friday, May 10

  • Fed Chief Ben Bernanke speaks at the Chicago Fed Banking Conference

  • Other Fed speakers: Charles Evans, Esther George

  • G8 meeting begins in the UK; Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will attend

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