US EQUITIES WEEK AHEAD: Retailers Report, Economic Data Due

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Home Depot Inc. (HD) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) are among the companies reporting quarterly results next week.

Economic reports due next week will detail April consumer and wholesale inflation as well as housing starts last month.

Congress will hold hearings on the recent stock-market plunge, the oil spill in the Gulf and problems at Toyota Motor Corp. (TM).

 
   Wal-Mart Seen Posting Same-Store Sales Decline 
 

Wal-Mart and other retailers will report fiscal first-quarter results next week. The world's largest retailer on Tuesday is expected to post improved results from a year earlier, with earnings of 85 cents a share and revenue of $98.45 billion. But it is projected to report a 0.4% decline in same-store sales following three straight quarters of softer sales in the U.S.

Department-store chains J.C. Penney Co. (JCP), Macy's Inc. (M) and Kohl's Corp. (KSS) this week said they are seeing a pickup in demand from customers, but not a return to robust buying. Also scheduled to report next week are Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Saks Inc. (SKS) and TJX Cos. (TJX) on Tuesday; Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) and Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) on Wednesday; and Target Corp. (TGT), Gap Inc. (GPS) and Sears Holding Corp. (SHLD) on Thursday.

Big-box home-improvement retailer Home Depot and its main rival, Lowe's Cos. (LOW), will post results Tuesday and Monday, respectively. Home Depot's results are likely to top those of a year earlier but Lowe's earnings are seen slightly lower, according to a poll of analysts by Thomson Reuters. Demand is expected to improve as the housing market recovers and interest in larger remodeling projects grows.

 
   H-P, Dell Both Seen Posting Better Results 
 

Hewlett-Packard, which last month bid $1.2 billion for smartphone maker Palm Inc. (PALM), is expected to post sharply higher earnings and see top-line growth in its fiscal second quarter. HP, the world's largest personal-computer maker by volume, reports Tuesday, and its rival Dell Inc. (DELL), which also is adding smartphones to its product lineup, reports Thursday. Dell has been hurt by tougher competition and narrower margins in recent quarters as it evolves from a commodity-hardware manufacturer into a full-service, global enterprise-technology concern.

 
   April Inflation, Housing Data To Be Detailed 
 

The government will issue the April Producer Price Index, which measures wholesale inflation, and Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in retail prices, on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. There have been few signs of inflation during the recession.

Also due Tuesday is a report on April housing starts. Home construction climbed for a third straight month in March. On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders will release its May housing market index. The confidence index climbed to the highest level in seven months in April.

The Federal Reserve will release the minutes from its latest rate-setting committee meeting Wednesday. Reports on regional manufacturing activities are due Monday from the New York Fed and Thursday from the Philadelphia Fed. The nonprofit Conference Board also will release its April index of leading indicators Thursday.

 
   Tribune Takes Restructuring Plan To Court 
 

Tribune Co. (TRBCQ) on Thursday will ask the Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy court to approve an outline of its Chapter 11 restructuring plan, which will allow the media giant to send the plan to creditors for a vote. The plan is based on a settlement stemming from the company's 2007 leveraged buyout deal, which saddled the company with billions in debt. If approved, the pact will shield real-estate mogul Sam Zell, the architect of the LBO, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C) and others involved in the deal from lawsuits alleging fraud, mismanagement and profiteering stemming from the transaction.

 
   Labor Members Plan Washington March Monday 
 

Thousands of labor union members are expected to march Monday in Washington in an event labeled "Showdown on K Street." They plan to march along K Street, where many lobbyists have their offices, to Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) office next to the Treasury Department, then to the Capitol. The event is meant "to draw a direct line connecting unaccountable corporations, their lobbyists and the members of Congress who do their bidding." Last month, several thousand demonstrators marched through New York's financial district to highlight profits posted by big banks during the recession.

 
   Hearing Wednesday On Movie Futures Contracts Plan 
 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday to examine the growing controversy surrounding a plan by two firms to offer futures contracts tied to movie box office receipts. Attending will be executives from the Veriana Networks-owned Trend Exchange and Cantor Exchange, which is owned by Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald Securities Corp. Both companies seek to list movie futures contracts but face opposition from numerous entertainment industry trade groups and many members of Congress who fear the products could lead to manipulation and could harm the U.S. film industry. Representatives from the entertainment industry have also been invited.

 
   SEC, CFTC Leaders Testify On Stock Market Drop 
 

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler will make their second appearance in as many weeks before Congress to discuss their findings on the May 6 stock market plunge. Schapiro and Gensler are slated to appear Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment. The two officials testified Tuesday before a House panel that they haven't pinpointed a single cause for the baffling stock dive, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 1,000 points before staging a partial recovery.

 
   House Panel Hearing On Oil Spill Set For Wed 
 

A U.S. House committee has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico resulting from an explosion on an offshore drilling rig last month. The White House this week said it will ask Congress to increase the tax on U.S.-produced oil by 1 cent a barrel as part of legislation it unveiled to collect more damages from companies responsible for oil spills. BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) was expected Friday to deploy its "top hat" device to contain the large oil leak a mile down in the Gulf.

 
   House Panel To Review Response To Toyota Problems 
 

A U.S. House committee will examine issues related to the Toyota safety recalls Thursday. The hearing, before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight panel, was originally scheduled last week. It will examine how Toyota and federal auto-safety regulators responded to reported incidents of Toyota vehicles that accelerated beyond the driver's control.

 
   British Airways Prepares For Cabin Crew Strike 
 

British Airways PLC (BAY.LN) has said it plans to fly more passengers each day during the first in a new wave of strikes by cabin crew next week. During the first five days of strikes from Tuesday to May 22, the airline will fly 60% of its longhaul schedule at London's Heathrow Airport and 50% of its shorthaul schedule. It expects to fly more than 60,000 customers every day compared with 51,000 a day on average during the previous industrial action before the Easter holiday.

 
   Obamas' Second State Dinner Honors Mexican Leader 
 

Mexican President Felipe Calderon will visit Washington next week and will be the guest of the Obama administration's second state dinner Wednesday at the White House. Calderon also will speak Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Thursday to a joint session of Congress. The two countries have been working to combat violent drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border.

 
   Fraud Trial Against Four Banks To Resume In Italy 
 

A landmark trial against four major German, Swiss and U.S. banks accused of fraudulently selling derivatives on a EUR1.68 billion bond is expected to resume Thursday in Milan, Italy. The case was adjourned early this month so a new judge could take over. Deutsche Bank AG (DB), UBS AG (UBS), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Depfa Bank--the Irish unit of Germany's Hypo Real Estate Holding AG--face aggravated fraud charges of reaping some EUR100 million in illicit profits from the irregular sale of derivatives. The banks have all denied any wrongdoing. Eleven bank employees and two former Milan city employees face the same charges as the banks. The derivatives were linked to a 30-year bond worth EUR1.68 billion issued by the City of Milan in 2005.

 
   Conferences 
 

Among the significant conferences next week are the JPMorgan Technology, Media and Telecom Conference from Saturday through Wednesday in Boston, Credit Suisse Group Basic Materials Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in Boston, and Robert W. Baird Growth Stock Conference from Tuesday through Thursday in Chicago.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; [e-mail]

(Dow Jones Newswires staff contributed to this article.)