The business week ahead

Heads up: While the U.S. trade deficit actually improved in January, that wasn't seen as good news but as a reflection of the recession; we'll see what February trade figures show Thursday. Other reports due out this week include a couple Tuesday from the Federal Reserve: the release of the minutes from its meeting in March and consumer-credit data for February. And Thursday, retailers report their latest sales results.

Monday: The Northwest Multiple Listing Services releases statistics on home-sale activity in March in King County and Western Washington. Will prices and sales numbers reverse their long slide?

Tuesday: Seattle-based aviation consultancy Air Cargo Management Group holds its annual workshop on the state of the air-freight industry, through Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle. Shifts in cargo traffic are telltale signs of broader trends in the economy, so workshop attendees will be keen to learn of projections for 2009 and any hint of a bottom to the downturn. ... Alcoa — traditionally the first company in the 30-stock Dow industrials to report its financial results each period — kicks off the first-quarter-earnings season, which provides the next big test for the stock market.