As noted by Richard Heinberg on June 22nd, 2011, the media has lacked the ability to connect the economic situations in the Middle East and their uprisings to what is happening in Europe. I would avoid the word “Revolution” in the case of the Middle Eastern uprisings, seeing as no dramatic systemic changes have taken place, only the ousting of dictators.

The economy is rebounding as America's shoppers snap back to life.

U.S. equity markets are expected to open higher following a strong move overnight, triggered by an unexpected profit from Alcoa. This news is making investors more optimistic about the rest of the earnings season. Investors will also be watching today’s jobless claims and same-store sales reports for further clues the U.S. economy is on the road to recovery.

With the Bernanke news a non-event, traders will be watching the Case-Shiller Housing Report and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence figure for direction. The Case-Shiller Report is expected to show a decline of 16.4%. This number would be the smallest drop in almost a year.