Will Janet Yellen Make A 'Play' For The Fed Chairmanship This Week?

He says it all comes down to two big things: retail earnings and the Fed, the latter of which comes in two parts: The Fed Minutes and the Jackson Hole conference, which starts Thursday.

While Bernanke isn't appearing at Jackson Hole, Yellen will be on a panel:

This coming week, the attention should be squarely focused in two areas; consumer earnings and the Federal Reserve. With respect to earnings, companies such as ARO and AEO have taken a real beating of late after suggesting all was not well (add TUMI and COH in this group). While a number of consumer companies such as KORS and FNP appear to be firing on all cylinders, negative sentiment has grown (discretionary is the third worst performer over the last two weeks). Earnings from URBN, TJX, HD, TGT, buy rated JCP and DKS should help color in this picture (special attention will be paid to ANF given its proximity to ARO and AEO). On the Federal Reserve, the Jackson Hole summit shouldn’t make too much news although expect Janet Yellen to make a play for the Chairmanship with a “friendly” speech. Also this week, the minutes from the most recent Fed meeting will be released. If asset purchases really are going to slow in September, then a more robust discussion of how this would happen surely took place. Expect some headlines to emerge upon their release.