Schacknow - Today's Primer, July 9, 2012

TODAYS PRIMER                             
Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

Earnings season and the Fed’s next moves are in focus as Wall Street opens a new trading week. The Dow and the S&P 500 are coming off their second losing weeks in three, but the Nasdaq is currently riding a five week winning streak.


The only economic report of the day comes at 3pm ET, when the government issues May consumer credit figures. Economists look for a $7.8 billion increase, compared to April’s $6.5 billion rise. The marquee event of the week is likely to be the latest FOMC minutes, due out on Wednesday afternoon, as the Street looks for hints about any further quantitative easing moves.  Other reports out this week include the June federal budget statement on Thursday and the June Producer Price Index on Friday.


Earnings season officially gets underway after today’s closing bell, with quarterly numbers from Dow component Alcoa (AA). Among the overall trends investors will be looking for this quarter: how much blame is assigned to Europe for any shortfalls.


Among the week’s most widely watched reports will be Google (GOOG) on Thursday afternoon, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) on Friday morning, as investors await further information on JPM’s $2 billion trading loss first announced two months ago.


FX Alliance (FX) is a stock to watch this morning, with the provider of foreign exchange trading platforms agreeing to be acquired by Thomson Reuters (TRI) for $22/share in cash. That represents a 40 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $15.70.


Activision Blizzard (ATVI) also makes this morning’s watch list, with multiple reports saying Vivendi is interested in selling its 60 percent stake in the video game maker, a sale that reportedly could raise as much as $10 billion. Reuters reports that Time Warner (TWX) and Microsoft (MSFT) could be among possible bidders.


Facebook (FB) could see its $1 billion purchase of Instagram approved by the FTC by mid-August, according to the New York Post.


The board of Yahoo (YHOO) will meet Wednesday to discuss the status of the company’s CEO search, according to CNBC’s Kayla Tausche. Interim CEO Ross Levinsohn is still considered the leading candidate for the permanent job, but it’s unclear if the board will make a final decision at that Wednesday meeting.