This week’s flood of readings on inflation, retail sales and earnings is just what a data-hungry Wall Street has been anxious for.But it could be a case of the old saying, be careful what you ask for, because you might actually get it. Evidence that consumers and companies are cash-strapped could mean the economy is on a fast track toward recession — or already in the midst of one.
“I think we’re going to look back on fourth-quarter earnings and instead of thinking the recession is coming, if there is one, it already started,” said JPMorgan equities analyst Thomas J. Lee.
Stocks floundered last week, bouncing higher and lower as investors grasped for direction ahead of the upcoming earnings deluge. Last week brought a pledge from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that he was prepared to lower interest rates if needed, and news that Bank of America Corp. was buying the embattled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.
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