Earnings could power stocks next week | Biden’s alternatives to a corporate tax hike | How have consumers spent their $1,400 stimulus?

A busy week for the markets is coming up, with the first-quarter earnings season about to be underway.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE SAT, APR 10, 2021 WEEKEND BRIEF EDITOR'S NOTE A busy week for the markets is coming up, with the first-quarter earnings season about to be underway.   Stocks finished out the past week with a strong rally that took the Dow and S&P 500 to record highs.   Analysts say earnings could be a positive catalyst for the market. The big banks, like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, are set to report next week. One of the biggest worries for the markets has been inflation, and the consumer price index will be released next Tuesday.   It will be closely watched after the surprise pick-up in producer price inflation reported last Friday.   Consumers are also front and center. Retail sales for March will be released on Thursday, and that is likely to show a big jump as consumers started spending their $1,400 stimulus checks in the second half of the month.   Fed Chairman Jerome Powell appears on "60 Minutes" Sunday evening, and there are plenty of other Fed speakers scheduled during the week.   Earnings could fuel the market's gains. This quarter is forecasted to be a strong one, with plenty of positive surprises.   Corporate executives are also expected to speak openly about the future, providing more guidance on their businesses now that more of the economy is reopening and 1 in 5 Americans has been vaccinated.   "I think what we're going to start to see is the operating leverage for these companies is really underappreciated. The earnings are going to start to come back faster than the revenues," said Fundstrat's Brian Rauscher. "Corporate America has really done a good job in the last year of streamlining their operations, their cost structures and everything else." Patti Domm | CNBC Markets Editor @pattidomm THE WEEK AHEAD Earnings season is about to get underway and that could be a positive catalyst for stocks   MICHAEL SANTOLI'S MARKET COLUMN Risk appetites are up, and short interest is down. Has enthusiasm become irrational? YOUR WEEKEND BRIEFING  Goldman says these cheap stocks could post surprising results Biden has options beyond a corporate tax hike to pay for infrastructure, as negotiations get underway China slaps Alibaba with $2.8 billion fine in anti-monopoly probe Inside Redwood Materials, former Tesla CTO's effort to recycle batteries for rare components Investors have put more money into stocks in the last 5 months than the previous 12 years combined The reopening is gaining steam and these stocks may soon rally because of it, analysts say     Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS