By James Langton

(April 2 – 07:25 ET) – This week looks like it will be another relatively quiet one for both earnings and economics. Though, “pre-announcements” remain an ever present threat.

In Canada, there will be just two economic reports this week. Building permits are out on Thursday. The most important report will be Friday’s jobs report.

CIBC World Markets is predicting a relatively weak jobs report — just 5,000 new jobs. They foresee the unemployment rate rising a point to 7%. “A lacklustre March employment gain should keep hopes alive for a half point Bank of Canada rate cut,” says BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. “Bearish for the Canadian dollar, but supportive for fixed income markets.”

In the U.S., the economic calendar will be a little busier. On Tuesday, February factory orders will be reported. On Wednesday, U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan is speaking to the Senate Finance Committee.

Friday brings the all-important payroll report in the U.S. After surprisingly strong data in the past few months, economists are expecting to see real signs of weakness this time around. “In addition to the soft headline, we look for an uptick in the unemployment rate and reduced hours worked to confirm a downshift in labour markets,” says CIBC World Markets.

BMO is predicting a soft payroll report, too. “Taken together, the data will confirm that the U.S. economy was seeing only marginally positive growth as the winter quarter came to an end, an environment that should still favour bonds over equities, despite how far these two markets have already come.”

On the earnings front, only four reports are expected — Inco, Inmet, Noranda on Sunday, with C.I. Fund Management Inc. due on Wednesday.

First Call’s Chuck Hill notes, “Pre-announcements will keep the market busy most of the week. There are only a handful of companies reporting earnings this week.” On Thursday, Alcoa will be the first of the Dow Jones Industrial companies to report.

Circuit City reports Monday. Best Buy reports Tuesday. On Thursday, TranSwitch and Cognos join Alcoa. Interstate Bakeries reports on Friday.