Question No. 2: Is housing dead or alive? The news for housing this week was miserable. A big decline in housing starts in October to an annualized 529,000 units -- 76% lower than the January 2006 peak -- was largely driven by a big drop in apartment construction. Mortgage delinquencies now affect more than 10% of all outstanding mortgages.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI), No. 2 in volume, fell 15.4%, worst among S&P 500 stocks on Friday, after reporting a larger-than-expected loss for the fiscal third quarter. The company said it was not yet seeing a lot of market improvement.

Next week brings three more important looks at the housing market:

First up is existing-home sales from the National Association of Realtors on Monday. IHS Global Insight sees the October rate hitting 5.85 million units, up from 5.57 million units in September and up 18% from a year ago. Any number that beats September's sales rate is a bullish signal. Probably a third, maybe more, will come from first-time homebuyers scrambling to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit as well as foreclosed homes being unloaded by lenders.

Next is the S&P/Case-Shiller Index for September, due Tuesday. This tracks sale prices of existing homes in 20 major markets. The index has been trending higher since April or so.

Last is new-home sales, due Wednesday from the Commerce Department. IHS Global sees slippage to a 394,000-unit sales rate, based on declining building permits and the 13-month period it takes to sell a new home. An important point about new-home sales: Typically, people who already own a home form the core of new-home buyers. Builders aren't generally looking for first-time buyers.

Question No. 3: Has the U.S. dollar bottomed? For the pros on Wall Street, this was a big and important question. Granted, the dollar didn't rise much. The U.S. Dollar Index was up just 0.4% to 75.73. The dollar was up 1.1% against the British pound, 0.3% against the euro and nearly 2% against the Canadian dollar. The greenback posted its fourth straight weekly loss versus the yen.

The dollar has been trading lower because traders believe the Federal Reserve when it says it will keep interest rates near zero to encourage economic growth.

Nonetheless, the week's move higher had an important impact on stocks if only because nobody expected it. It hit oil prices, and energy stocks were among the week's biggest losers.

It hit companies that derive most of their business from outside the United States, including Caterpillar (CAT), which was off 1.4% for the week.

But what seems to be happening is that, for now anyway, there's a worry that a number of stock and bond markets are getting too frothy, perhaps including those in the United States. And Japanese investors aren't happy at all. The Nikkei 25 Index is down more than 11% since August as the yen has appreciated.

Two reports should be mentioned: A second look at how the economy performed in the third quarter is due Tuesday. The initial read on gross domestic product showed 3.5% annual growth. Most analysts see that number falling as more data have come in.

The Conference Board reports on its Consumer Confidence Index on Tuesday as well. The number is expected to rise, but the dicey news about economic conditions may depress the index.

And look for a gain in durable-goods orders, which the Commerce Department will report on Wednesday. That may be the week's best news (watch the videos above for more details).

Besides Hewlett-Packard, earnings are due from:

Monday: Campbell Soup (CPB)

Tuesday: Bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS), whose Nook e-book is sold out until January, ketchup maker H.J. Heinz (HNZ) and clothier J. Crew (JCG).

Wednesday: Bookseller Borders (BGP), farm and construction equipment maker Deere (DE) and upscale retailer Tiffany (TIF).