With millions of stimulus checks going out to taxpayers, Wall Street wants to know where that money will be spent — and this week's data could help investors gauge the mind-set of the average consumer.

Major business events and economic events scheduled for the coming week (some dates are tentative):

The percentage of vacant homes for sale in the U.S. set a new record high in the first quarter of this year, the government said Monday.

Homebuilder DR Horton tried to kill two birds with one stone this past weekend: unloading inventory and cleaning up the image of the housing market -- at least in a few towns in Southern California. The company held a first-come, first-served “Un-Auction."

Stocks rallied Monday after JPMorgan Chase raised its offer for Bear Stearns and a report on home sales came in better than expected.

Stocks rallied into the new week after JPMorgan Chase raised its offer for Bear Stearns and a report on home sales came in better than expected.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open for Wall Street after the Easter break, with investors still nervous about the state of the economy.

Homebuilder stocks have staged  a remarkable turnaround in 2008,  despite a torrent of bad news,  but the share prices of many are still closer to the floor than the roof.

Toll Brothers reported a first-quarter loss Wednesday: the homebuilder announced a huge jump in write-downs on properties it could no longer sell profitably; and its sales fell 23 percent. So why did the company’s stock climb as much as 2.21 percent Wednesday? Thank the  Office of Federal Housing Enterprises Oversight and Lehman Brothers.

After all the doom and gloom in recent months, the beleagured housing market got a bit of good news on Wednesday.

Toll Brothers, the largest U.S. luxury home builder, Wednesday reported a quarterly loss after recording heavy writedowns during its fiscal first quarter.

Stocks closed sharply higher on hopes that a government plan to stem home foreclosures would help ease the housing slump's drag on the economy and underpin profit growth.

Toll Brothers Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, as a charge for the reduced value of its land came in at the lower end of the company's forecast.

The nation's housing doldrums will drag on at least through 2009, dampening U.S. economic growth and job creation, but the slowdown won't push the economy into a recession, according to a new economic report.