Economic Calendar Today

The economic calendar is relatively light for today, though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify in Congress again. Before he begins his appearance at 9 a.m. ET, two key reports will be released. Durable Goods will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The headline number is expected to show a rise of 1.5 percent. Durable goods are expected to rise 1 percent excluding defense and 1 percent without transportation.

A higher reading than forecast gain, especially in the headline number, would be bullish. A lower-than-expected number would be bullish. It may be more difficult for this report to generate a surprise given that the range is very wide, from 0.4 percent to 3.6 percent.

Jobless Claims will also be reported at 8:30 a.m. ET. The forecast calls for a drop in initial claims to 455,000, down from the previous week’s 473,000. Continuing claims are expected to come in virtually unchanged from last week’s 4.56 million. For initial claims, a reading higher than 473,000 would be particularly bearish. A reading that comes in below the four-week moving average, last at 467,500, would be bullish.

As a note ONCE AGAIN – the VIX is primed for a large jump higher. Bad jobs numbers, Greece and the like might just be the fuel this thing needs. Notice the over-sold conditions for the VIX below.