IBM sinks on sales miss

Click the chart for more info on IBM shares.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Tech giant IBM posted third-quarter earnings Tuesday in line with expectations, though shares sunk in after-hours trading as the company reported a dip in sales.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based firm's revenue slipped 5.4% versus a year ago, coming in at $24.75 billion. Earnings per share, excluding special items, were $3.62.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) would report earnings of $3.61 a share on $25.4 billion in revenue. Shares, which have recently been trading near an all-time high, slipped 3.5% after-hours Tuesday.

The so-called Big Blue appears to be feeling the slowdown in Europe, with revenues for that region down 9% versus last year. Sales in the Americas fell 4%, while Asia revenue rose 1%.

IBM's businesses include software and hardware development, along with consulting and IT services. With its vast size and global footprint, investors tend to view the company's earnings as indicative of overall corporate technology spending and demand.

IBM shares have risen steadily over the past few years and are up about 15% in 2012, outpacing rivals Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), which is up 4%, and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500), down 43%. Fellow tech heavyweight Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) is up 24%.

IBM president and CEO Ginni Rometty, who took over as chair of the firm's board earlier this month, said the company sees "good opportunity with a strong product lineup" heading into the fourth quarter. The firm reiterated its 2012 earnings-per-share guidance of at least $15.10.

First Published: October 16, 2012: 4:32 PM ET

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Obama's housing scorecard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The housing market is gaining strength, thanks in part to government programs aimed at helping struggling homeowners, according to the latest Obama Administration Housing Scorecard.

"Our housing market is showing important signs of recovery -- with homeowner equity at a four-year high and summer sales of existing homes at the strongest pace in two years," said the Department of Housing and Urban Development's acting assistant secretary Erika Poethig in the report.

Home values, too, are back to levels not seen since the beginning of the Obama administration. And the number of homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage fell 11% during the first six months of 2012.

The government's programs aim to help those who are still struggling to stay afloat. More than 600,000 borrowers had their loans refinanced through government efforts like the Home Affordable Refinance Program so far this year, according to the report.

"The Administration's efforts to keep housing affordable and refinances strong are critical with so many households still struggling to make ends meet," Poethig said.

Another boost to the housing market came last April, when the federal government and the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia inked a $25 billion settlement deal with the nation's five largest banks over so-called robo-signing foreclosure abuses. That deal is expected to help another couple of million borrowers reduce their mortgage payments.

Related: 'I'm trapped in a high-rate mortgage'

Since the administration started rolling out its programs in April 2009, more than 5.6 million borrowers have received aid, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said.

Here's a rundown of the government's mortgage relief efforts and how they've fared:

Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

Launch: March 2009

Participation: As of August 2012, there have been 1.9 million trial modifications started. More than 1 million have made the transition into permanent modifications. Some 245,000 of those have been canceled due to re-defaults or because borrowers sold their homes.

This program enables eligible borrowers to lower their first mortgage payments to more affordable and sustainable levels. Lenders receive incentives to reduce mortgage payments for at-risk borrowers; the target is 31% of income.

HAMP originally fell well short of estimates that it would lower mortgage payments for 3 to 4 million borrowers. And, many early workouts failed as borrowers soon re-defaulted on their loans.

Track record: HAMP's record has improved and re-default rates have declined, but they're still troubling. As of August, nearly 19% of all borrowers with HAMP modifications are at least two payments behind 12 months after their loans were modified.

HAMP modifications have slowed to a crawl lately, with just 16,500 permanent modifications started in August.

The modifications have led to a total of about $15 billion in lowered borrowers' payments, according to the Treasury Department.

Home Affordable Refinance Program

Launch: March 2009

Participation: 1.54 million

This program helps borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but are having a hard time refinancing their mortgage because they are underwater or owe more on their home than it is worth. The home must be underwater due to falling home prices and the mortgage must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Originally, HARP allowed homeowners to refinance if their loan balances were between 80% and 105% of the market value of their home. But after disappointing initial results, the rule was changed to include borrowers with loan-to-value ratios of up to 125%. Later, the cap was removed altogether.

Track record: The changes have helped make HARP one of the more successful government programs. The number of HARP refinances has accelerated with more issued during the first seven months of the year than in all of 2011.

More than half the loans refinanced in June, July and August went to homeowners with loan-to-value ratios above 105%.

Second Lien Modification Program (2MP)

Launch: April 2009

Participation: 93,865 borrowers

The Second Lien Modification Program (or 2MP) provides assistance to homeowners who have second mortgages or home equity lines of credit in addition to their primary mortgages.

Many potential mortgage modifications have hit roadblocks because lenders of home equity loans and lines of credit refuse to cooperate. After all, the first mortgage holder typically gets paid first when an underwater mortgage gets modified and there's often nothing left for the second lien holder.

Related: Housing improves in hard-hit swing states

Yet, second lien holders have to agree to a mortgage modification -- and to take a loss -- before a loan can be refinanced. Under 2MP, the government pays cash incentives to the lenders of the second loans so they will allow the refinancing to proceed.

Track record: So far, only 22,009 borrowers have had their second mortgages completely wiped out by their second loan lenders, with an additional 66,973 receiving a partial reduction in their principals. That's a far cry from the estimated one million or more that the program was created to help.

The average amount involved is more than $62,000 for a full elimination of a loan balance and about $9,000 for a partial elimination.

Hardest Hit States Fund

Launch: February, 2010

Participation: 74,000 homeowners have been assisted with another 35,000 applications being processed.

The Obama administration set aside $7.6 billion for foreclosure prevention funding for states that were hit hardest by the economic downturn.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia participate in the program and each spends the money on programs they determine best meet the needs of their residents.

About 70% of the $1.1 billion that has been spent for direct homeowner assistance has been in the form of unemployment assistance to help homeowners make their mortgage payments while they seek work, according to Andrea Risotto, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department. Much of the rest went toward helping homeowners who have suffered a financial hardship get current on their payments.

Track record: Only a fraction of the funds has been spent. Demand from unemployed borrowers has been much less than anticipated, according to Risotto. Many homeowners don't reach out for assistance right after they lose their job because they think it will just be a short-term setback, she said. By the time, they seek help their options have become more limited.

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA)

Launch: April, 2010

Participation: As of August, 97,189 HAFA agreements have been started and 71,403 transactions have been completed so far.

Aimed at borrowers who are underwater on their mortgages and who've been denied a modification via HAMP, HARP or other programs, HAFA is a last-ditch effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. They still, however, lose their homes.

The program pays cash to both borrowers and lenders who complete short sales, deals in which the bank that holds the mortgage agrees to accept a sale price for the home that is less than what it is owed and forgives the unpaid amount of the mortgage debt.

Related: Obama's economy: A snapshot

The program includes deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure, which are agreements in which the bank takes back the home directly from the borrower as full repayment.

Track record: HAFA was also an early disappointment, with few borrowers taking advantage of the program. Others who would have participated, were ineligible because they did not meet a 31% debt-to-income requirement for approval. That requirement was removed in early 2011.

Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA)

Launch: June 2010

Participation: 96,859 trial modifications started.

This program is for borrowers with loans that are not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). It requires servicers to evaluate the benefit of reducing mortgage principal for loans in which the balance has exceeded the value of the home by 15% or more.

Loan servicers are not required to reduce the principal, just to consider doing so. The mortgages may be ones in the HAMP program.

Track record: For those who are eligible for it, PRA can result in substantial savings. The typical reduction in principal is nearly $71,000. Lenders, however, have put few borrowers in the program.

Home Affordable Unemployment Program (HAUP)

Launch: July 2010

Participation: 26,197 forbearance plans have been started since launch.

This forbearance program reduces or suspends mortgage payments for unemployed borrowers for up to 12 months.

Track record: Participation has been limited. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA, which represent a huge share of the market, have their own forbearance programs and borrowers with loans backed by those entities do not qualify for HAUP. Only borrowers with loans owned by the banks can participate.

FHA Short Refinance

Launch: September, 2010

Participation: 1,803 through October.

This program is also designed to help underwater borrowers who remain current on their mortgage to refinance into more affordable FHA-insured loans.

Under the program, the mortgage servicer must first agree to write off at least 10% of the principal before the borrower can refinance. The modified loan will help put them back in the black, at least on their first mortgage: The debt-to-value ratio has to exceed 97.75%. With any second mortgage factored in, it can't exceed 115%.

Track record: This got off to a very slow start, with only about 15 refinances done by early 2011. It was nearly killed off by the House Financial Service Committee but it is still limping along. Only 1,803 borrowers have taken advantage of the program with just 136 of those coming in September.

Emergency Homeowner's Loan Program (EHLP)

Launch: June, 2011

Participants: About 15,000 loans were given.

End date: September, 2011

This $1 billion program offered interest-free loans of up to $50,000 to homeowners who were hit with a job or income loss and who resided in one of the 32 states not covered by the Hardest Hit States program.

Related: Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?

Loans were restricted to those who have a household income of $75,000 or less, or earn less than 120% of the median household income for a community. They must have missed at least three payments, been on the verge of losing their home and demonstrated the ability to resume payments once their period of unemployment ends.

Track record: This program fell well short of its target of helping 30,000 borrowers by the time it ended in September of 2011. Only about half the allocation, $500 million, was spent.

$25 Billion foreclosure abuse settlement

Launch: April, 2012

Participants: 137,846 have received some type of relief as of June 30.

The deal inked between the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia, the federal government and the nation's five major lenders --- Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citibank (C, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (BWF)and Ally Financial (ALLYPRB) -- aimed to settle charges that the banks had abused the foreclosure process with improper paperwork and procedures.

Under the settlement, the banks agreed to reduce payments for borrowers by either reducing the principal they owed on their loans or cutting their interest rate.

Track record: A preliminary progress report released in August revealed that the banks had already submitted claims for $10.6 billion in mortgage relief. The majority of those claims, however, were credits that the banks took for short sales.

The banks did make some progress in implementing the mortgage modification part of their pledge. About $1 billion in principal reduction modifications have occurred thus far, according to the report, but another $4 billion in principal reduction modifications were not counted because they're in the trial stage.

By the time the first official report is released as scheduled in November, another $3 billion in debt forgiveness should be counted, according to HUD secretary Shaun Donovan.

The banks have claimed credit for about $103 million for refinancing borrowers mortgages into lower rate loans.

First Published: October 16, 2012: 6:59 PM ET

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China bashing prevails as U.S. vote nears

President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at their first debate. Trade with China has become a major issue in the campaign.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- In what has become something of a campaign ritual for politicians of both parties, President Obama and Mitt Romney have adopted hard-line postures toward China as Election Day approaches.

Whatever the result of the election, the rhetoric is likely to moderate after Nov. 6 if the experience of past administrations is anything to go by.

Romney has pledged to label China as a currency manipulator on his first day in office, and frequently works the promise into his campaign speeches.

The former consultant and private equity CEO has also accused the Obama administration of being too soft on China, especially on trade issues.

"It's time for us to stand up to China for their cheating," Romney told a crowd in Ohio on Saturday. "It's gotta stop."

The president has been more circumspect in his use of language but the administration this year has filed trade complaints against China over autos and rare earths. It also blocked the sale of American wind farm companies to a Chinese firm.

Related: Americans: China is an economic threat

The latest criticisms from the Republican candidate comes after the Treasury Department last week delayed the release of a report that has in the past criticized China for keeping the value of its currency artificially low.

Delays are nothing new, but the next edition of the report is now unlikely to be issued until after the election.

The president has run a campaign that has repeatedly sought to draw connections between Romney's tenure at Bain Capital and the outsourcing of American jobs to China.

"Mitt Romney: tough on China? Since when?" a recent ad asked.

"[Romney] says he's gonna take the fight to them, he's going to go after these cheaters, and I've got to admit, that message is better than what he has actually done about this thing," Obama said earlier this month in Ohio.

Romney and Obama are not the first presidential candidates to beat up on China.

Bill Clinton famously referred to China's leaders as the "butchers of Beijing" during the 1992 presidential race. Four years later, George W. Bush criticized Clinton for being too easy on China.

"These guys all ate crow," said David Zweig, an associate dean at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "Once in office, presidents tend to change their behavior."

That shift is not surprising given the nature of the relationship. China is one of the United States' largest trading partners, and the economies of the two countries -- the largest and second largest in the world -- are increasingly interconnected.

Related: Ford posts record Chinese sales

Beijing holds more than $1 trillion in U.S. debt, and U.S. exports to China are on the rise. China's currency, the yuan, has been allowed to appreciate in recent years but many American businesses argue it still does not reflect its true market value, giving Chinese exporters an unfair competitive advantage.

Many analysts worry that Romney's plan to label China a currency manipulator could backfire, and the specificity of the promise leaves him few options but to follow through.

"He has created a huge problem for himself," Zweig said. "He has said consistently he will do it. So how does he climb down from that?"

Economists are even more worried about the second part of Romney's initial China plan, which is to direct the Department of Commerce to institute countervailing duties on Chinese imports if China "does not quickly move to float its currency."

That could spark a trade war between the two countries -- a circumstance likely to end unhappily for both Beijing and Washington.

Related: Romney's China attacks worry business

The Obama administration has taken protectionist actions, introducing tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels and tires.

But the benefits have been hard to discern, and American consumers have ended up paying more for goods.

Chinese officials have tolerated the campaign rhetoric with relatively good humor so far. Comment has been restricted to editorials in state-run media that are particularly critical of Romney.

Zweig said that China's top officials are very much in tune with the realities of American politics, even down to which states are crucial to secure electoral victory.

But talk is one thing, Zweig said, and action is another. Should a future administration depart from precedent and become significantly more aggressive toward China, Beijing will respond.

First Published: October 16, 2012: 7:29 PM ET

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Jump-start your smart phone

Pick out the best pocket-sized battery charger for how you use your device.

(Money Magazine) -- Fact of life: The more you use a gadget, the more likely its battery will be dead just when you need it most. If you're tired of hunting for outlets, try a pocket-size battery charger.

MONEY put three through their paces.

FOR GADGET-HEADS ONLY

Iogear High Capacity Mobile Power Station
Power rating: 6½ stars
Weight: 7.2 ounces
Price: $48
How it works: If the inside of your bag looks like a Best Buy, you may be willing to carry extra weight to get a charger that powers multiple devices. The Power Station has dual USB outputs, one for phones and one for tablets. It's bulkier than the others, but it fully charged an iPad 2 and brought an iPhone back to 100% four times over. (It can also power up most USB or micro-USB devices.)

FOR EVERYONE (BEST OVERALL)

Innergie PocketCell
Power rating: 3 stars
Weight: 2.6 ounces
Price: $68
How it works: The lightest and most totable of the bunch, the slick-looking PocketCell took an iPhone battery from dead to 100% charged, with juice left over. It can fully charge an e-reader, and gave the iPad an extra four hours of life. The battery also spares users from sorting through a jumble of cords, thanks to its three-in-one cable with fold-out connectors for Apple, mini-USB, and micro-USB devices.

Related: Top 4 compact portable scanners

FOR WIRE-PHOBES ONLY

Duracell 24-Hour Power System for iPhone
Power rating: 1½ stars
Weight: 3.2 ounces
Price: $91
How it works: Hate keeping tabs on multiple device chargers? This two-in-one system combines a portable battery with a home charging mat. The mat can wirelessly juice an iPhone (the phone must be in the included case) or revive the portable battery, case-free. The mobile battery itself delivers little bang for your buck, though: It left the iPhone just short of a full charge.

Power rating: Each star equals five hours added talk time. Power ratings determined by MONEY tests using an iPhone 4S.

Battery Boosters

Go into your phone's settings and make these tweaks to ward off the Red Icon of Impending Doom.

Dim the lights. Dial down screen brightness. If available, enable the auto-brightness feature, which adjusts based on ambient light.

Turn off extras. Disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS features when you're not using them. And don't use power-draining animated wallpapers.

Pare down pop-ups. Limit push notifications -- those annoying messages that show up even when you're not using an app -- to essentials like texts.

Have an emergency plan. Switching from 4G to a slower 3G cellular network can eke a few more minutes of life out of a dying battery.

Send The Help Desk your questions about buying tech gadgets.

First Published: October 15, 2012: 1:43 PM ET

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Amazon and Apple customers to get credits for price-fixed e-books

In April, the Department of Justice sued Apple and five major publishers, alleging they colluded to raise the price of e-books. Three of the publishers agreed to a settlement earlier this year, which would provide credits to customers.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Amazon and Apple have informed some e-book buyers that they'll receive credits for future book purchases, as part of a recent settlement three major publishers signed to settle a price-fixing lawsuit.

Eligible Kindle e-book customers will receive credits ranging from 30 cents to $1.32 per book, Amazon estimated. Apple did not specify a range.

Customers who bought qualifying e-books between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012 are eligible for a refund, and won't need to do anything in order to receive their credits. If approved by the court, the credits can be used for future e-book purchases. Amazon customers may also use the credit for print books.

Any customer affected by the price-fixing scheme may also receive a check instead of a credit by visiting www.EBookAGSettlements.com.

Amazon crowed in its email that the "settlements are a big win for customers and [we] look forward to lowering prices on more Kindle books in the future." The settlement is also a big win for Amazon.

In April, the Department of Justice sued Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and five major publishers, alleging they colluded to raise the price of e-books. Three of the publishers -- Hachette Book Group, CBS's (CBS, Fortune 500) Simon & Schuster and News Corp.'s (NWSA, Fortune 500) HarperCollins -- agreed to a settlement earlier this year.

As part of the proposed settlement, the three publishers agreed to provide money for a $69 million fund that would pay out credits to affected consumers.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) and Apple sent emails to their customers over the weekend to explain the credit and settlement, which is pending court approval at a hearing in February. Both emails explained that the settlement is between the government and the publishers. Amazon was not named in the lawsuit, while Apple said last month it will likely appeal the approval of the settlement. Apple, as well as publishers Macmillan and Pearson's (PSO) Penguin, opted not to settle and their case is set to head to trial next June.

Before the release of the iPad in 2010, Amazon's Kindle was the preeminent e-book reader on the market. Amazon forced publishers to sell most books at $9.99. According to the DOJ's lawsuit, booksellers were unnerved by the discounted e-book price structure Amazon launched in 2007.

Related story: Google strikes deal with publishers over universal library

The publishers went to Apple in late 2009 to find a way to force Amazon to raise its prices, and the debut of the iPad a few months later proved to be the perfect tool. The alleged conspiracy placed many books at so-called "agency pricing," putting them on the market at about $12.99 and giving Apple a 30% cut. About three days later, Amazon allowed publishers to set their own prices, resulting in higher prices for Kindle e-books as well.

The DOJ alleged that as a result of the arrangement, e-book customers paid between $2 and $3 more for each book, amounting to upwards of $100 million more than they otherwise would have spent.

As part of the settlement that the three publishers agreed to, they'll be required to grant retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500) the freedom to reduce prices -- and for the next two years, they won't be able to sign contracts with retailers that restrict such pricing decisions. For five years, the publishers will also be blocked from entering contracts with retailers that contain so-called "most favored nation" clauses that prevent the publishers from selling to other retailers at lower prices.

Finally, publishers will also be forced to tear up their current agency pricing agreements with Apple, as well as any other deals with retailers that contain pricing restrictions.

First Published: October 15, 2012: 1:25 PM ET

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Indonesia: The newest BRIC?

Indonesia's economy is expected to grow 6% over the next several years.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The-so called BRIC nations may need to add a fifth member: Indonesia.

Brazil, Russia, India and China were once considered the hottest emerging markets in the world. But they have been skidding this year.

Indonesia, on the other hand, remains one of the fasting growing economies thanks to a rising middle class and strong domestic consumption. In turn, investors and analysts say they expect it to stay a ripe area for investments over the short and long-term.

"Consumers are heading up the value chain and using more expensive soaps and dishwashing detergents," said Bharat Joshi, assistant investment manager of Indonesian equity funds for money manager Aberdeen, which has roughly $500 million invested there. "We're seeing companies do well that reflect the rising income levels in Indonesia."

While Indonesia's economy took a significant hit during the late 1990s Asian financial crisis, the southeast Asian country largely evaded the more recent global downturn.
Indonesia's main stock index, the Jakarta Index, has trailed the S&P 500 only slightly over the past two years. It's returned 19%, compared to the S&P 500, which is up 20%.

More importantly, analysts say Indonesia and its growing middle class is buffered from some of the pressures hitting other fast-growing nations. Unlike many of its neighbors, the country's growth isn't solely dictated by exports. Instead its growing middle class is fueling something of a virtuous cycle where more goods and services are produced and purchased in rapidly urbanizing cities throughout the archipelago.

The Indonesian government has tamed inflation even as domestic growth has chugged along at roughly 6% per year over the past few years. That's expected to continue.

McKinsey & Co. predicts that Indonesia will be the 7th largest economy in the world and add 90 million additional members to its middle class by 2030. Right now, there are 45 million middle class Indonesians, and it ranks as the 16th largest economy in the world.

Many of the companies represented in the Jakarta index are commodities companies, as Indonesia is one of the top producers of coal and palm oil in the world. That could make Indonesia's stock market more vulnerable to macroeconomic swings since commodities companies are more dependent on global growth.

Betting on Brazil

But Indonesia's banks and consumer products companies are still expected to report sharp growth, analysts said. Astra, Indonesia's largest auto dealer and a holder of stakes in local banks, is among the companies likely to benefit from the continued growth of the middle class. Unilever Indonesia, a majority-owned subsidiary of British-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever (UL) is another.

Aberdeen's Indonesian funds are up roughly 20% year-to-date by finding small and medium-sized "value" companies, Joshi said. Among them: Holcim, the local subsidiary of a Swiss cement company, and Multi Bintang Indonesia, the local subsidiary of Heineken. Those stocks are up 28% and 96% respectively.

One way for U.S. investors to gain easy access to Indonesia is through ETFs. Two major ETFs are Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (IDX) and iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund (EIDO). Their returns have underperformed the Jakarta Index this year though.

As is the case with many emerging markets, there are still many risks. Indonesia has made a big push to clean up corporate governance issues with many of its companies, but more may need to be done to attract more capital to the country.

"We've seen reforms in Indonesia but they're not always deep enough," said Dhiren Shah, a portfolio manager at Blackrock focusing on Indonesia. "The challenges are that it's still a young market with not as much liquidity or turnover as we'd like to see in stocks or the stock exchange."

First Published: October 15, 2012: 9:42 PM ET

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New $100 bills stolen en route to Fed facility

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Unknown thieves stole a "large amount" of newly-designed $100 bills bound for a Federal Reserve facility in New Jersey on Thursday, the FBI said.

Frank Burton, Jr., spokesman for the FBI's Philadelphia division, said the theft occurred at some point between when the shipment of bills landed at the Philadelphia airport on a commercial flight from Dallas at 10:20 Thursday morning, and when the shipment reached its New Jersey destination around 2:00 p.m., when the courier service transporting the bills reported some missing.

Burton declined to comment on the amount taken, but said it was substantial.

Related: 91 charged with Medicare fraud

"We're following all logical leads," he said

The missing bills carry a design that is not slated to reach circulation until 2013. They feature a large gold "100" graphic on the back, and an orange box on the front with a faint image of the Liberty Bell.

First Published: October 12, 2012: 7:40 PM ET

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Stocks: Economy, earnings and Europe gun for attention

Click the chart for more stock market data

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors have a lot to contend with this week, as U.S. economic data, earnings reports and developments out of the eurozone will make waves.

A deluge of reports on the U.S. economy will give investors a status report on the nation's economic health in the three weeks before the presidential elections.

Last month's jump in gas prices will likely play a role in several data points this week, including the value of retail sales and consumer prices in September, which are due out Monday and Tuesday.

Investors will also get a glimpse into manufacturing and industrial production, which has been struggling under pressure from a global slowdown across the sector.

The housing market, a bright spot on the otherwise slow recovery, will once again be in the spotlight, with reports on housing starts, building permits, mortgage rates and existing home sales popping up throughout the week.

Related: A new housing boom

Economists believe that the nation's housing market has finally turned the corner and expect home prices to continue to rise, with some analysts predicting that we're on the brink of another housing boom. Mortgage rates are likely to remain near record lows thanks to the Federal Reserve's monthly purchase of $40 billion in mortgages for the foreseeable future.

In corporate news, earnings will once again be in focus this week. Investors will get a sense of how heavily the global slowdown has weighed on business revenues and profits. Lackluster earnings could hamper this year's stock market rally.

Three more investment banks are expected to report earnings this week, deepening the understanding of whether lending has picked up and how strong the housing recovery has been. Results from Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) are on tap.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) was the first to report earnings last week, and came in with record profits for the third quarter. The bank cited new mortgages and refinancings as the key driver of overall results. Mortgage lending also lifted Well Fargo's (WFC, Fortune 500) quarterly results to record levels, but revenue still fell short of analysts' estimates.

Analysts expect to see similar results from banks this week.

"Given what we saw out of Wells and JP Morgan, I'd expect banks to come in around the same," said Rex Macey, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisers. "The regulators are playing such a big role in some of these institutions that it leads to greater consistency in reporting. It's a little more predictable."

A slew of tech and mobile companies are also on deck.

Investors will pay particular attention to results from Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and IBM (IBM, Fortune 500), since shipments of personal computers are on pace to fall this year for the first time since the dot-com bust of 2001.

Intel already cut its third-quarter sales forecast last month, and rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Fortune 500) followed suit last week, warning that third-quarter revenue could decline 10% from the previous quarter.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

Worries about the eurozone will also come into play this week. European Union leaders will come together for the EU Council meeting on Thursday and Friday. They are expected to discuss reforms on banking, but many anticipate that there could be pressure on Spain to request a bailout in exchange for European Central Bank support.

Spain came under more pressure last week, as Standard & Poor's lowered its credit rating on the ailing nation last week, stating that "the government's room to maneuver to contain the crisis has diminished."

U.S. stocks ended the week lower. The Dow lost more than 2%, the biggest weekly decline since June 1. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq suffered similar declines.

First Published: October 14, 2012: 8:40 AM ET

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Inflation slows in China

Prices in China were up 1.9% in September compared to the previous year.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Chinese consumers paid 1.9% more for goods in September than they did a year ago, the government's National Bureau of Statistics reported Monday. That's down from a 2% increase in August.

Food prices, which account for more than a third of the inflation calculation, rose 2.5% during the month.

Household finances in China are especially susceptible to fluctuations in food prices, as many poor families spend large percentages of their income on food.

Still, inflation remains at very low levels. As recently as one year ago, China's consumer price index stood above 6% -- well north of the government's stated inflation rate target of 4%.

In July, officials said that annual economic growth dropped to 7.6% in the second quarter -- down from 8.1% the previous quarter. The government will issue its third quarter GDP report later this week, and economists expect growth to remain well below 8%.

Some analysts have recently lowered their growth forecasts for the rest of the year, while some noted that weakness is likely to extend into 2013.

The People's Bank of China twice lowered interest rates this year in an effort to spur growth, and the central bank has also cut the amount of money banks are required to hold in reserves.

The government confirmed more action last month, finalizing the details on a $157.7 billion investment in 55 new infrastructure products.

China's once-in-a-decade leadership transition is scheduled to start Nov. 8. The timing of the event, which will reshape the ranks of China's Communist Party, could put any policy changes on hold.

Related: Will China's auto boycott backfire?

Economists at UBS said Monday that further action is unlikely after a round of positive trade data that has eased concerns.

"We do not expect the government to come up with any major new stimulus, either during the leadership transition or after, unless the economy takes a turn for the much worse," the bank said in a research note.

First Published: October 14, 2012: 11:01 PM ET

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Target zeroes in on exercise fanatics

Target's athletic wear line, C9 by Champion, is opening its first stand-alone store in San Francisco, Ca., on Sunday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Sports bras. Yoga pants. Spandex shorts. Athletic wear is everywhere.

Just ask Target. The cheap-chic retailer is opening a standalone store for its athletic line C9 on Sunday in San Francisco.

C9 has been a runaway hit for Target (TGT, Fortune 500). Eight years ago, C9 was just a line of sports bras made by sportswear manufacturer Champion. Today, C9 makes running shoes, snow pants, and sweatshirts for men, women and children. It also rakes in a billion dollars annually.

That puts it in the same league as the trendy yoga apparel maker Lululemon (LULU). Maker of the best selling $100 yoga pants called Lulus, the company has had one of the hottest stocks this year with a 57% gain, and expects to rake in $1.3 billion in annual sales. Compared to Lulus, C9's premium yoga pants will be priced at $40.

Related: Lululemon CEO: How to build trust inside your company

In a way, Target is following in the footsteps of rival Gap (GPS, Fortune 500), which also runs 28 standalone stores for its sportswear brand Athleta.

Athletic apparel has exploded in recent years, partly because of the focus on healthier, active lifestyles. From First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attack on sugar-rich sodas, there's been a concerted move from public personalities to push for healthy living.

Active wear has also become part of many people's everyday wardrobes. More people are embracing yoga pants and hoodies in and out of the gym. Women's active wear alone has doubled in the last 10 years to a $14 billion industry, according to research firm the NPD Group. It is expected to grow 9% this year.

"It's one of the few categories in all of fashion, and all of retail, that has been consistently doing well," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group.

Cohen points out that active wear is one of the few lines of clothing that is constantly improving because of new technology, like moisture-wicking fabric and hidden pockets for keys. With exercise, also comes a lot of wear-and-tear, which means they need to be replaced more often.

Cohen expects growth for athletic wear to come in at lower price points, which could be a boon for Target. It already sells its C9 line in its 1,700 stores as well as on Target.com

Target said it didn't have plans to open more C9 stores yet.

"We'll take cues from our customers," said Joshua Thomas, a Target spokesman.

First Published: October 12, 2012: 5:48 PM ET

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