Now that the U.S. government has averted a shutdown, all eyes will be on the 1st quarter earnings reporting season which begins in earnest tomorrow. One of the companies that can provide a snapshot regarding the overall health of the global economy is aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) which will report on Monday after the bell. Also from the banking sector both JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) are schedule to report this week. Finally, tech titan Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) is scheduled to release its earnings results on Thursday after the close.

Needless to say, we have a very important week ahead that will most likely set the tone for the rest of the companies due to report in April. Analysts are expecting yet another quarter of better than expected earnings results and with the way the markets have elevated over the past several months, companies cannot afford to miss their mark or provide tepid guidance.

Good luck to all.

~George