Coming Week: Ready, Set, Listen

The "housing bottom" crowd was undermined this past week by lackluster results and guidance from Toll Brothers( TOL Quote), as well as the subprime stench wafting from New Century Financial( NEW Quote) and HSBC Holdings( HSBC Quote). (Given comments by his predecessor, it is unlikely Chairman Bernanke will be overly concerned about the subprime market, my colleague Liz Rappaport reports.)

The earnings calendar slows considerably in the coming week but does feature results from Yum! Brands( YUM Quote), Applied Materials( AMAT Quote), Coca-Cola(KO Quote) and Transocean Offshore( RIG Quote).

Jones Apparel Group(JNY Quote) is scheduled to report on Wednesday, a day after January retail sales data are released. (Other economic reports include the trade balance on Tuesday, industrial production/capacity utilization on Thursday and PPI on Friday.)

Last week's stronger-than-expected same-store sales data got traders feeling more upbeat about retail stocks, and consumer spending generally. The cold snap in much of the country in late January helped retailers sell winter gear, albeit at a discount (although not as steep as previously expected).

However, overall sales slowed considerably in the second half of the month because "exactly at the same time temperatures went into arctic freeze we got the spring merchandise in," Dana Telsey, CEO and chief research analyst at Telsey Advisory Group said Friday in an interview on TheStreet.com TV. "It felt chilly to buy sleeveless clothing."

Telsey believes same-store sales in the first half of January could be as much as eight basis points higher vs. the second. That, in turn, could mean there's downside risk to the forecast for retail sales growth of 0.3%, already down considerably from December's robust 0.9%.

Nonetheless, Telsey said "easier comps are coming in the month of February" and expressed a bullish view of J. Crew(JCG Quote), Coach(COH Quote), Best Buy(BBY Quote) and Blue Nile(NILE Quote).

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting