What to Watch in the Week Ahead and on Monday, April 14

ON MONDAY

Goldman Sachs is expected to report its first-quarter results, where analysts expect the investment bank to report higher profit, thanks to a stronger trading business due to market volatility.

The beginning of the holiday-truncated week will be marked by a host of events where Federal Reserve policymakers will share their thoughts and views. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is slated to speak at an event hosted by the Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce in Greer, South Carolina. (1200/1600) Separately, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is due to speak on "The Role of the Federal Reserve" at the Villanova School of Business Speaker Series. (1800/2200) Also, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic is due to speak on monetary policy in a moderated conversation hosted by Emory University in Atlanta. (1940/2340)

Canada's wholesale trade data for February is scheduled for release. According to Statistics Canada's flash estimate, wholesale trade most likely rose 0.4% in February, largely driven by higher sales in the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector. In January, wholesale trade grew by 1.2% on the motor vehicles and parts, as well as the building materials and supplies subsectors.

REST OF THE WEEK

Among the most looked-out-for results, Netflix is reporting on Thursday. The streaming giant is expected to post a rise in revenue in the first quarter as it continues to add more subscribers to its lower-priced, ad-supported tier.

Also scheduled are major American lenders. Bank of America is expected to report a drop in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt as the bank shored up more money in its loan loss provisions to guard against potential loan defaults in a volatile economy. Citigroup's first-quarter profit is expected to jump when the Wall Street powerhouse reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday. Investors will be closely focused on executives' commentary on tariffs and economic forecasts.

The U.S. central bankers have a busy week ahead. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook at the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Barkin is due to speak on "Driving Through the Economic Fog" at the University of North Carolina. On Wednesday, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack is scheduled to participate in a moderated question-and-answer session at an event hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club in Columbus, Ohio. The same day Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid is due to speak on the economy and community banking in a moderated conversation with Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan at an event hosted by the Dallas Fed and the Dallas Citizens Council. Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook is slated to attend an event at the Cal Alumni Club of Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. On Thursday, Fed Board Governor Michael Barr is due to attend a moderated discussion at the State-of-the-Field Conference being hosted by the New York Fed.

On Thursday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva is slated to deliver remarks on the global economy ahead of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings.

On the U.S. economic tap, retail sales data, due Wednesday, is forecast to have jumped 1.3% in March, compared to a modest 0.2% rise in February. Excluding sales of automobiles, retail sales is projected to have edged up 0.2% last month, after rising 0.3% in the prior month. Industrial production and capacity utilization data are also on the radar the same day. In March, industrial production is expected to show a 0.3% decline, after a rise of 0.7% reported in February. Capacity utilization was likely at 77.9%, down from 78.2% in the prior month. The same day, business inventories data is estimated to show a 0.3% rise in February, after increasing by a similar rate in January. The Labor Department's weekly jobless claims data is scheduled on Thursday. Additionally, on Tuesday, import prices for March will be released, which is projected to be flat after having risen 0.4% in February. A set of housing data are also scheduled for release on Thursday. Housing starts likely came in at 1.420 million units in March, down from 1.501 million units recorded in February. Building permits for March totaled 1.451 million units, lower than 1.459 million units in the prior month.

On Thursday, analysts expect credit card giant American Express to report higher profit for the first quarter as strong spending offsets the hit from bigger credit loss provisions.

When Johnson & Johnson reports first-quarter results before markets open on Tuesday, investors will closely watch for any changes to the company's 2025 profit and revenue forecast, as well as details on its planned $55 billion investment in US expansion. The focus will also be on the impact to its medical device business from the US-China tariff war.

UnitedHealth is scheduled to report first-quarter results before markets open on Thursday. Investors will closely watch factors that are driving the healthcare giant's medical cost trends and any changes to its 2025 outlook. Any comments around a Justice Department investigation into the company's Medicare billing practices will also be in focus.

Investors will focus on the performance of Abbott Laboratories' heart devices and continuous glucose monitors, as well as comments on tariffs when the company reports its first-quarter results on Wednesday.

U.S. Bancorp is expected to report a rise in its first-quarter profit on Wednesday, on strong trust and investment management fees.

Truist Financial is expected to post a rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday on the back of strong fee income and trading activity.

Charles Schwab is expected to post a rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday on higher asset management fees as markets remained volatile.

On Tuesday, Albertsons is expected to post a rise in fourth-quarter revenue, helped by robust demand for groceries and other essentials. Investors will watch out for comments on consumer sentiment for the year, as well as on the company's ongoing lawsuit with Kroger on their botched merger.

Travelers, the insurance bellwether, is expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Analysts expect a loss for the first quarter, and investors will be scrutinizing the impact from the LA wildfires earlier this year.

The Bank of Canada is likely to cut interest rates for the eighth time in a row on Wednesday to bring borrowing costs further down in a bid to boost spending and investments before a raft of tariffs on some major Canadian exports starts taking a toll on the economy and push it to the brink of recession.

Ahead of the all-important rate decision, Canada's economic calendar includes the release of some crucial datapoints on Tuesday. The consumer price index likely rose 0.6% in March after an increase of 1.1% in the previous month. The housing starts data for March and the manufacturing sales numbers for February are also on radar the same day.

Latin America has a light calendar for the week, with Argentina's trade balance data for March due on Wednesday and Brazil's IGP-10 inflation index reading for April scheduled on Tuesday.