Finance Week Ahead: Tax Day in America, a Flood of Earnings and More

Another week on Wall Street and more records shattered as the S&P 500 finally found its way past the 2007 intraday high it hit in October of 2007. While stocks ended Friday on a flat note, both the S&P and the Dow saw their best weekly performances of 2013 so far (as commodities tanked) and, on Thursday, ended at fresh all-time highs. As our senior columnist Michael Santoli points out in Friday's column, "The [S&P 500] is up 11% so far this year, more than the average annual gain through documented history."

What can throw a wrench into this (arguably) "unloved," low-volume rally?

Well, much could hinge on earnings results from next week's jam-packed week, in which no less than 74 S&P 500 companies will report. Financials will be a major focus following Friday's reports from JPMorgan (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS), which failed to impress investors once they dug below the surface of their analyst beats.

And of course Monday brings our favorite national holiday: Tax Day in America. We've already gotten a look at the Biden's and Obama's returns -- so have you seen your accountant yet? If the tax process is getting you down, please take note of the freebies and deals you can snag on that day. Nothing like a few ribs from Boston Market and a good massage to make it all seem so much brighter.

Meanwhile, scheduled segments so far for The Daily Ticker and Breakout include former FDIC chair Sheila Bair discussing "too big to fail" and another look at the buy vs. rent debate.

See below for more highlights of the week ahead in finance and news:

Monday, April 15

    It's Tax Day in America
    A very full earnings week begins with Citigroup reporting before the bell. This report will represent the first full quarter earnings period with Michael Corbat at the helm.
    A landmark case will come before the Supreme Court as it hears oral arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology vs. Myriad (MYGN). The issue at hand: Should human genes really be patentable? What comes of this case (which will be decided in June) has implications for a broad array of industries, from biotech to Big Pharma to agriculture.
    U.S. Senate convenes: agenda includes gun control legislation after Senators voted this past week to begin debate on the topic.
    All Things D will host an event in NYC called D: Dive into Mobile. This is a two-day event that will feature execs from companies including Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT).
    Data: Housing market index, Empire state manufacturing survey, credit card default rates, Treasury international capital

Tuesday, April 16

    More key earnings: Goldman Sachs (GS), BlackRock (BLK), Coca-Cola (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), US Bancorp (USB-PN), Intel (INTC), Yahoo! (YHOO)
    Annual meetings: Moody's (MCO), US Bancorp (USB-PN)
    Fed speakers on the calendar: Charles Evans, William Dudley, Elizabeth A. Duke, Narayana Kocherlakota
    Senate 'Gang of Eight' (John McCain, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer, Robert Menendez, Michael Bennet and Jeff Flake) is expected to release proposal on immigration reform
    Obama will meet United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House
    Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will testify to House Budget Committee and the Senate Budget Committee on fiscal year 2014 economic policy
    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will testify to the House Appropriations subcommittee on the Department of Defense budget
    Data: Housing starts, consumer inflation, industrial production

Wednesday, April 17

    Key earnings: Bank of America (BAC), American Express (AXP), Ebay (EBAY)
    Fairway Group expected to start trading in IPO. Current price range between $10 and $12 a share.
    Annual meetings: Carnival Corp. (CCL), Gap (Yahoo! Finance's company of the year for 2012) (GPS)
    Fed's Beige Book will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, two Fed speakers are on the calendar: James Bullard and Eric Rosengren
    Data: Mortgage applications, oil inventories
    More testimony on the fiscal year 2014 budget will come from: Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of State John Kerry
    There will also be a hearing on immigration reform featuring Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

Thursday, April 18

    Earnings: Morgan Stanley (MS), PepsiCo (PEP), Philip Morris (PM), United Health (UNH), Verizon (VZ), Nokia (NOK), Google, IBM (IBM), Microsoft, Chipotle (CMG), E-Trade (ETFC)
    Fed speakers on the calendar: Jeffrey Lacker, Narayana Kocherlakota, Sarah Bloom Raskin, Fed balance sheet/money supply
    Shareholders meetings: ebay (Yahoo! Finance's #2 Company of the Year for 2012), Texas Instruments (TXN)
    G20 finance ministers meeting begins in DC
    Data: Weekly jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed survey, leading economic indicators, natural gas inventories

Friday, April 19

    IMF spring meeting in DC
    SeaWorld is expected to start trading in IPO. Price range is currently between $24 and $27 per share
    Blackhawk Network Holdings also expected to debut. Price range is currently between $20 and $22 a share.
    Key earnings: McDonald's (MCD), GE (GE), Honeywell (HON)