The economic news this week focuses on retail sales (Wednesday), wholesale inflation, new jobless claims and industrial production (Thursday), and consumer price inflation and consumer sentiment (Friday). For a bit of context, here are some links that caught our attention…

►Oil falls below $76 ahead of US company earnings
►Emerging-Market Stocks Rise for Third Day on China Tightening
► Earnings: The real test for stocks
►Retail Sales Probably Declined in June
► Investors Expect Profits and Seek Clues to Future
►Corporate America’s Pile-O-Cash
►Monthly Budget Review
►The Feckless Fed
►The Rising Threat of Deflation
►Gold keeps rising as panicky investors look for security
►A good commodities manager is hard to find
►The U.S. Federal Reserve’s list of worries may be getting longer