U.S. Stock markets are closed on Monday

Monday the 19th of January the American stock markets are closed for a National Holiday, Martin Luther King Day.
On Tuesday the 20th we have Inauguration Day when Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Public Offices will be closed but the Stock Markets remain open.
Around 180 Companies are reporting results this week.
Traders expect stocks to get a boost from the Inauguration, but diappointing earnings and results could dampen the enthousiasm.
The 4th Quarter earnings are the most important indication for the markets at the moment and going to set the direction for the coming months.
The market has largely written off the first half of 2009 and the upcoming bad news is mostly incalculated. Unexpected (good or bad news) events can however have a large impact on the mood of the day and on the global markets. Investors risk their money and they want returns, not words, plans or promises.

Getting the money for the economic stimulus plan.

Getting the money for the economic stimulus plan.

With President-elect BarackObama's Inauguration Day less than 3 weeks away, Democratic lawmakers want to pass a far-reaching bill to save the economy. The largest Washington spending bill of all time, which is expected to reach the 1 Trillion Dollar will face some opposition from Republican Senate leaders and could easily be pushed forward in to February.
Democratic negotiators in the House and Senate are working on proposals that they will present to their chambers after the new Congress convenes on Jan. 6.
There is a chance a stimulus bill will be passed by Jan. 20, but it might be the first of two pieces of legislation.
"The first will be stimulus measures intended to get folks back to work and to help with housing. Then a broader measure will advance that will include more public works projects and related measures," said Jaret Seiberg, a financial services analyst at the Stanford Group, a Washington-based policy research firm.
With worsening economic conditions, the estimated cost of stimulating the economy shoots up.
Obama has said he wants to genarate or save 2.5 million jobs in the next two years. With the economic crisis spreading through allmost all levels of industry and the services sector being hit as well, unemployment rising, the retail sector suffering and consumer confidence at an all times low, this is a tremendous challenge. It is no more a matter of just throwing money at the problem but creating a fine-tuned stimulus package, which will need some time.
(Source CNN Money)
Road to stimulus: Speed bumps ahead