Investors also will get more chances to hear from Fed officials, as they return to the speaking circuit after this week's FOMC meeting.

Other important news next week will include September's international trade data, October's import and export prices indices and November's preliminary consumer sentiment index, all due for release on Friday.

There will also be much scrutiny of Thursday's jobless claims release, following this past Friday's worse-than-anticipated employment report. As I mentioned Thursday, now that third-quarter earnings are winding down, the primary catalyst for U.S. equity markets over the remainder of the year is likely to be a tepid recovery in the U.S. labor market. That puts added emphasis on any jobs-related data.

On the political front, the House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform late Saturday, and investors will be watching the reaction to that news. Elsewhere, President Obama will make his first trip as chief executive to Asia. His China visit may grab some attention, particularly after the government's recently imposed tariff on Chinese tires.

Lastly, Kraft (KFT - commentary - Trade Now) has a deadline of 17:00 GMT Monday to make an official offer for Cadbury (CBY - commentary - Trade Now). Otherwise, it will be forced to walk away for at least six months.

Although earnings reports are tailing off, the market will hear from one important name: Wal-Mart (WMT - commentary - Trade Now) plans to report its third quarter on Thursday.