The Week Ahead, April 14-18

KEY EVENT: Hoping for a thaw. In February local job growth slowed as snow and bitter cold battered the region. Did finding work come easier as spring approached? The State Labor Department will provide some answers Thursday when it releases Long Island jobs created in March.

MONDAY: Retail sales for March and business inventories for February, both from the Commerce Department. Earnings: Citigroup.

TUESDAY: Deadline to file personal income taxes. Also the U.S. Labor Department releases the March consumer prices report, including a separate breakout for the region including Long Island. And the Federal Reserve Bank of New York posts its Empire State manufacturing survey for April. Earnings: Coca-Cola, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo.

WEDNESDAY: The U.S. Federal Reserve posts industrial production for March and the April beige book, a collection of recent economic data. Also, March housing starts from the Commerce Department. Earnings: Lake Success bank company Astoria Financial, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Google, IBM.

THURSDAY: Claims for jobless benefits for the week ended April 12 from the Labor Department. Earnings: DuPont, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo.

FRIDAY: Financial markets closed for Good Friday.-- PETER KING