After the European Storm

This week investors will continue to keep an eye on European political developments following last week's presidential elections in France and parliamentary elections in Greece as well as a host of economic data. Today, the European Union's industrial production numbers will come out, we will see if this continues to trend down. Tomorrow, we'll get first-quarter GDP estimates from France, Germany, Italy and the eurozone as a whole. On this side of the Atlantic, the government will release data on April retail sales and the consumer price index. This month CPI is expected to stay dead flat, partly thanks to lower oil prices. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department is expected to show that builders broke ground on more houses last month than in March, and the Fed is expected to show an increase in industrial production over the same period. The most important market news will come from the Fed's policy announcement, in which it will indicate whether it will step up monetary stimulus or stay the course. Weekly initial unemployment claims have finally shown some signs of life, and on Thursday, claims for last week should show another slight improvement. No major releases will be coming out on Friday.