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The Dow Jones Industrial average begins the trading day 55 points away from 13,000. Stocks rallied last week following some better than expected news on the job market and the housing industry with the Dow rising 46 points Friday. The NASDAQ dipped eight points, but rose nearly two percent for the week.

Expect the latest figures this week on home sales, unemployment and consumer sentiment. A new poll by bankrate.com finds nearly half of all Americans have more in credit card debt than they have in emergency savings. The poll also found nearly a third of Americans say they feel less secure about their finances now than a year ago.

Oil prices are at a nine month high on concerns about possible supply disruptions from Iran. Higher crude oil prices are expected to push the national average for a gallon of gas to $4 by the spring. Analysts fear that could squeeze household budgets and slowdown the economic recovery.