Coming Week: Enjoy Turkey, Forget Stocks

Barbera expects some companies to issue statements characterizing traffic and sales on Black Friday, even if no specific data are released. That could work to boost confidence for some merchants, while preparing investors for weak results at others.

Outside of the retail sphere, the National Association of Realtors will release existing home sales data for October on Monday, and the Census Bureau will disclose new-home sales on Wednesday. The Commerce Department will also release preliminary figures for third-quarter gross domestic product on Tuesday, indicating how far economic output has dropped so far. And on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are still crafting a bill to assist U.S. automakers GM (GM Quote), Ford (F Quote) and Chrysler, while President-elect Barack Obama (D., Ill.) lays the ground work for the regime change in January. Reports emerged Friday that Timothy Geithner , president of the New York Fed, was the pick for Treasury secretary and Hillary Rodham Clinton was poised to accept the secretary of state post.

In the meantime, as the Treasury continues to dole out financial-bailout funds, bank stocks like Citigroup (C Quote) are under siege, with several firms facing rumors about impending collapse or acquisition.

Few major regulatory and legislative decisions are likely to be solidified during a lame-duck session on a week when most of Washington, D.C., has gone home for a turkey dinner. Regarding the economic data, investors should be looking forward instead of back, says Gregg Fisher, president and chief investment officer at the investment-advisory firm Gerstein Fisher. While the steady drumbeat of bad economic news has depressed market sentiment and stocks, Fisher believes that long-term investors should see it as a buying opportunity for strong firms at rock-bottom prices.