- Market Commentary -

February 22, 2010 (FinancialWire) (By Genevieve Hawkins) — Wall Street’s correction may already be over if earnings forecasts from home builder Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) and retailer Target (NYSE: TGT) come in strong.

The losing streak turned around last week as the Dow rose 3.0%, the S&P 500 increased by 3.1% and the Nasdaq rose 2.8%, partially due to positive comments from the Federal Reserve about an economic recovery. With the true unemployment rate horrendous and fiscal policy locked in partisan politics little has actually changed, however. The glowing Fed actions may be a shell game designed to keep the masses buying.

The Federal Reserve will remain in the spotlight for the coming week as investors wait for information about the future of economic stimulus programs. Markets may stay abnormally calm even as volatility roils underneath the surface. Earnings reports are expected in the coming week from retailers including Macy’s and the Home Depot.

The market and the economy may be on the way up, but it’s prudent to be skeptical. A sudden stock market decline could occur just as confidence and money returns.

[Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=genevieve+hawkins to see more commentaries by Genevieve Hawkins.]

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The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Fed Chairman Bernanke appears before House (11 a.m.), Treasury auctions 3&6-month bills (11:30 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases CPLA, APOL, LINC, BBOX at Credit Suisse Group Global Services Conference; HON Annual Investor Conference; KMT Management Meeting with Financial Community.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.gigmasters.com

Quote of the Day: “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” George Washington

Today is: Washington’s Birthday (traditionally), World Thinking Day.

Happy Birthday: Rembrandt Peale, George Washington, Robert Baden-Powell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dwight Frye, Sheldon Leonard, Robert Young, Sir John Mills, Don Pardo, Ted Kennedy, Sparky Anderson, Steve Irwin, Vijay Singh, Rachel Dratch, Jeri Ryan, Drew Barrymore.

Today in History: Under the Adams-Onís Treaty, Spain sold Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars in 1819. The Republican Party opened its first national meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1856. Johns Hopkins University was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1876. In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opened the first of many of 5 and 10-cent Woolworth stores in 1879. President Grover Cleveland signed a bill in 1889 admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states. Calvin Coolidge became the first President of the United States to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House in 1924. Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 in 1959.

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