Hello friends and Fortune readers.
Earnings season officially kicks off this week with a slew of banks reporting along with a couple of tech companies trickling in between. In politics, the Senate will vote again on the contentious Keystone XL Pipeline bill, which President Obama has promised to veto.
Here’s what you need to know for your week ahead.
1. Let the earnings season begin
It’s that time of the year! Companies begin reporting their earnings this week for the year-end quarter including banking powerhouses JPMorgan Chase (JPM) on Wednesday, Bank of America (BOFA) and Citigroup (C) on Thursday and Goldman Sachs (GS) on Friday. In other industries, look out for Alcoa (AA) to report Monday, followed by Intel (INTC) and BlackRock (BLK) Thursday afternoon.
2. Another week, another Keystone vote.
Following the House of Representatives’ approval of the Keystone Pipeline bill on Friday, the Senate plans to take up the issue this week, and is almost certain to vote in favor. The project would bring as many as 800,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. But despite the Congressional support, the White House says it will veto any bill. For an explainer on the saga, see Fortune’s recent article.
3. The North American International Auto Show
All eyes will be on Detroit early this week for the 2015 North American International Auto Show. The event kicks off with a few days of press previews and include the unveiling of around 40 new car models, according to the Detroit Free Press. “If you are not having fun in this auto industry you apparently are not breathing,” Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, told the newspaper.
4. Expect a ton of data announcements, too
The week is also jam-packed with a number of economic and consumer data reports. On Tuesday, check out the NFIB Small Business Survey, which measures a number of metrics around entrepreneurship including the level of optimism among small business owners. On Thursday, the Commerce Department will release the latest monthly retail sales figures. On Thursday, look for weekly jobless claims along with the NAHB Housing Market Index. Finally, on Friday, there’s consumer data, including the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey. Check Fortune.com daily for reporting on the various reports.
5. The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference
JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, the Super Bowl of biotech and healthcare conference, opens in San Francisco on Monday. It’s the health industry’s largest event of the year, with over 400 companies presenting. An expected 9,000 attendees will be at the 33rd annual event. You can catch webcasts for some of the sessions after registering.
