There were quite a few headlines for investors to digest last week — leaders in Europe continue to hammer out a solution to the region’s debt crisis, the U.S. trade gap improved slightly overall in august, but imports from China rose to a record high and new claims for jobless benefits fell by 1-thousand to 404-thousand, holding near a key threshold for the past three weeks. In the week ahead we’ll get a read on consumer spending with earnings reports from McDonald’s, American Express and Coca-Cola and a slew of economic data

We’ll check on housing with the September housing starts report. …In august new construction fell 5 percent, marking two months of decline. Homes are being built at half the normal pace of a healthy housing market. But building permits — a gauge of future building activity — rose by 3 point 2 percent

We’ll gain insight on the economy with the September industrial production report— which tracks activity in manufacturing, mining and utilities. In August industrial production rose slightly— as auto production remained strong but utility usage declined as weather improved.

We’ll get a read on inflation with the September consumer price index report —which tracks price changes for food, clothing and energy—-in august prices rose 4 tenths of one percent driven by higher food and gas prices.

And that’s your CNBC market look ahead for the Grio dot com. I’m Shartia Brantley.