Bank of America Corp (BAC), Citigroup Inc (C) & Nine Announcements/Events Banking Investors Must Watch Next Week

Since the Easter holiday and varying spring break holidays can take a toll on the workforce’s stability, investors should look for the data to even out. Last week saw a big decline in jobless claims, so most will want to see a continued drop — but don’t expect it to match the previous report’s rate of decline.

Consumer Confidence Index — Data in the past week revealed some concerns among consumers about the state of the economy. Since there is uncertainty, many consumers will reduce their spending and stay away from big purchases, which could be financed through bank loans or credit cards. With more pressure on discretionary spending from taxes and forced furloughs for government workers, watch for consumer confidence to be down — but not out.

Throughout the week, a number of prominent Federal Reserve members are giving speeches or talks on the current economic environment, monetary policy, and the financial crisis. Any nuggets of information gleaned from these talks could provide good insight into future Fed policy.

Federal Reserve Gov. Elizabeth Duke will speak to the American Banking Association in Washington.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota speech to Market Technicians Association, Minneapolis, as well as participate in a series of speeches at the Levy Institute in New York.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen will lead a panel including Bank of England Gov. Mervyn King to discuss monetary policy at the IMF conference in Washington.

Federal Reserve Gov. Jeremy Stein will participate in a panel discussing financing regulation at the IMF conference in Washington.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard, Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren, and Federal Reserve Gov. Sarah Bloom Raskin will all give speeches at the Levy Institute in New York.

Be informed
As always, it’s important to know what will affect your stocks as you move through the week. But as a Foolish investor who’s in it for the long haul, you know that being informed means riding the waves caused by any of the announcements listed above. And as always, don’t feel like you need to study every piece of information released in any given week — pick and choose what you find most important. Fool on!

The article 9 Announcements and Events Bank Investors Must Watch Next Week originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Jessica Alling.

Fool contributor Jessica Alling has no position in any stocks mentioned — you can contact her here. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Wells Fargo. It owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase.

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