A week to forget, or we should just say, forget this week. When historians look back they won’t find much in the way of economic news. News that helps move entire markets. There just is a lack of anything important going on right now and markets are reacting like it. Little movement, no volume seems to be the story line.

We did see WalMart (WMT) and Macy’s (M) come out with some fairly negative comments about future prospects and it did give everyone something to think about. The two most important retailers in the United States coming out and saying they believe the next two quarters will be tough is something to definitely think about. Consumers control this economy and if they pull back their spending, the ramifications could be significant. We do take issue with both company’s outlooks for two important reasons: Consumer confidence continues to be strong. Debt levels are rising which indicates spending.

We will keep an eye on the various indices that are related and if we see a confirmation of those company’s outlooks, we will share it.

The coming week doesn’t look like it will reverse the trend we have seen this summer. Nothing important ever happens here.

Existing home sales will continue to improve and new home sales will also improve. Most of the attention will be on the FOMC minutes that will be released on Wednesday. Again, it will be economic double-talk and say little about the potential tapering.

We will say it to anyone who will listen. End it sooner rather than later. Without cash flooding in from the Fed, Banks will increase lending. They have the cash now, they don’t make money when they don’t lend.

Simple.