The Bottom Line: Heading to the mall again?

Economists are waiting with baited breath to see how retail earnings will impact stock prices. Big retailers will start announcing their results this week.

I don't quite know what to expect. Will there be crafty maneuvering of expenses to make the retailers appear more profitable than they actually are? It's an age-old strategy in companies with shareholders - companies legally can get pretty creative with accounting to raise or lower profits to try to keep their own stock prices steady. The interesting thing here is that these retailer reports are being heralded as the be-all-to-end-all for deciding whether we're in a deepening recession or a rebound.

I think we may just see some even more interesting accounting from retailers this year as a result. After all, the retail chains have a vested interest in making sure consumers want to spend. How better to boost consumer confidence than to make them believe that their neighbors are again spending freely. One thing I can bet on? If I make any inferences about retail's reflection of the economy, it won't be without reading the quarterly report fine print