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Retailer Chico's jumped over 14% in early trading on a report that the company could be considering going private. The mature women's clothing chain has struggled along with its competitors in this crowded field. However, its earnings seemed to be better than the industry average in its group. The lack of mall traffic has hurt Chico's and the long, harsh winter didn't help. Competitors haven't had it any easier. Coldwater Creek went bankrupt and only just recently found a buyer, while J. Jill has changed ownership many times. Francesca's has never done as well as the day it went public.

U.S. markets ended Monday's session in the green after Tyson Foods announced it would buy Hillshire Brands and Merck said it will acquire Idenix Pharmaceuticals for $3.85 Billion. Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings will retain both titles after shareholders voted against splitting the two roles. The NCAA says it reached a $20 million settlement with Electronic Arts over current and former bowl subdivision players and Division 1 men's basketball players whose likenesses were used in video games. Facebook's Instagram says it will start rolling out ads to users in Great Britain, Canada and Australia.

Volume and volatility were at record low levels again this week, leaving traders scratching their heads and wondering what's the catalyst to being it back. TheStreet’s Jill Malandrino and Nicole Urken preview the week ahead and where investors will be focused. Economic data is light as is the earnings calendar, but the key will once again be retail stocks and the strength of consumer spend. The consumer space has been a tale of the "haves" and "have-nots", with higher and lower end retail outperforming relative to mid-tier brands. Stocks to watch included Lululemon, Restoration Hardware and Sportsman's Warehouse.

The market moved higher across the board as the May nonfarm payroll report said that all the jobs lost in the recession had now been recovered. Rockwell economist Peter Cardillo has been confident for months as the economy has been on a steady upward trend and this report supports that. He is not surprised to see oil commodities move higher as a result. He does not expect the Federal Reserve to move up its schedule to reduce asset buying, even though unemployment has dropped to 6.3%. He expects any big move from the Fed will take place in 2015 and the market has already priced that in.

Men's Wearhouse already posted a top and bottom line beat, but when its latest acquisition -- Joseph A. Bank -- reports earnings later today, we'll have a proxy on what to expect next. The deal has been green-lit by the FTC, so this is likely the last time both companies will report earnings separately. Plus, market watchers are watching Amazon for its next phone -- could it be a game-changer for Samsung or Apple? And Jim Cramer's Action Alert pick is a play in financials... With shares trading in the low $160s, Jim has a number of factors he has eyed that could push the stock into the mid $170s.

The Dow and S&P 500 closed at new records on Thursday after the European Central Bank unveiled more stimulus measures to jump-start the economy. Shares of Amazon soared after the company said it would hold a product launch event on June 18th. The announcement prompted speculation that it may unveil a smartphone that would put it in direct competition with Apple. Ciena shares surged nearly 20 percent after the company announced that topped analyst forecasts in the latest quarter and issued upbeat guidance for the second half of the year. And, rising home prices and a climbing stock market means households and non-profits added $1.5 trillion in net worth in the first three months of 2014, according to new data released by the Federal Reserve. Ruben Ramirez reports from Wall Street.

Stocks continue to see a rotation back to risk averse large cap names. Jason Weisberg of Seaport Securities points out that with volume drying up, investors prefer to stash their money in relatively safe, big names. The Russell 3000 companies with market caps over $50 billion have delivered performance of 5% year to date. The "nifty fifty" term was coined during the 1960's bull market to describe 50 popular stocks. It looks like the "nifty fifty" will return as large cap companies over $50 billion seem to be the stocks drawing investors to them.

Sprint is lining up a buy of T-Mobile that could be worth up to $50 billion, it's the latest deal in a series of consolidation plays in the technology industry that could have broad sweeping impact on the Internet and on how data is consumed daily. Plus, a slew of earnings are on the way, including Ciena, J.M. Smucker, and after the bell, Diamond Foods -- which is up in advance of the open. Finally, Jim Cramer has liked the auto sector all year and he's bullish on Johnson Controls still, today. He's looking to generate value in its auto interiors business, and says the company's going to make a run on good auto sales news.

The market closed higher on Wednesday as we head into Thursday's European Central Bank meeting, and everyone is wondering what Mario Draghi will do. European growth slowed down in the first quarter and more stimulus is widely expected. The latest private payroll data showed that the United States added only 179,000 jobs in May, less than economists were expecting. The number is not encouraging ahead of the all-important non-farm payroll number, due out on Friday. The Federal Reserve released its latest Beige Book. Survey shows the economy is recovering slowly. Consumer spending has been going up overall and car sales led household spending. Federal Reserve officials didn't give any specific details on when they plan to hike interest rates, but bond yield is up across the curve. 10-year treasury yield is now back above 2.60.

June is historically a bad month for stocks in a mid-cycle election year, says Mark Newton of Greywolf Equities. Stocks remain at elevated levels, but the volume has been very low. Newton believes investors should take profits now while stocks are at these high levels. He is concerned that with the ECB meeting and the jobs report coming out on Friday, negative news could sink the market. Also, fewer stocks are hitting new highs and there hasn't been a positive catalyst to motivate buyers. Economic data has been positive but weak, which doesn't convince traders to commit capital to positions.

Pandora released its latest monthly listener report and investors did not like its tune. Listener hours increased 28% to 1.73 billion in May versus last year's 1.35 billion. Pandora's share of U.S. radio listening reached 9.13% and active listeners reached 77 million, both better than last year. However, the stock is dropping almost 5% this morning because bears are worried that Pandora's radio share dropped from 9.28% in April to 9.13% in May, and that listening hours and active listeners are flat. For the past year Pandora's stock is up 44% but has slid 7.48% YTD. Investors are also worried about the Apple/Beats deal and that iTunes Radio may finally start to steal market share from Pandora. Pandora says May's report will be its last monthly metrics release and going forward it will only release listener data quarterly. Debra Borchardt reports from New York.

Earnings are still on the way this Wednesday and PVH Corp. is set to report earnings today -- was last quarter's miss just a one-time bad beat, or a sign of things to come? Plus, Wal-Mart is setting up shop for its annual investor meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas, but its workers are preparing to picket the mega-retailer, taking advantage of its big event to get attention for their cause -- increasing the minimum wage. And Jim Cramer is opening a new position, in Oracle, making a bet on the company's software segment, which accounts for the bulk of its revenue. He has a bullish price target on a stock that's up already. ¿

U.S. markets ended Tuesday's session narrowly in the red after posting three straight days of gains. May auto sales figures from car companies came in better than many had expected. Pilgrim's Pride raised its bid for Hillshire Brands by a little more than one billion dollars to $7.7 billion. The latest bid tops the offer Tyson Foods made last week for $50 a share. Hillshire's board of directors authorized the company to consider the two competing offers. Krispy Kreme cut its full year earnings outlook. Tesla CEO told shareholders that he would likely remain with the electric car maker for at least another four years and then reassess. Ruben Ramirez reports from Wall Street.

Auto sales in May were very strong for GM, Chrysler and even Ford. Consumers are showing signs of strength as they are willing to pay higher vehicle prices and even buy gas guzzling trucks. Keith Bliss of Cuttone warns that these high sales numbers can't last. He points to the U.S. factory orders that came out today, which were all higher except for transportation. He thinks this portends a slowing of auto buying in the future. Stocks did not respond to the good news because of recent buying that pushed stocks to record highs. Cuttone says the market is topped out at these levels.

Food fight: The barbarians are slugging it out on aisle three! An ongoing bidding war between Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson's Foods for Hillshire Brands has market watchers tracking the latest in the bid battle. Hillshare shares are up 60 percent this year, but analysts are now saying there is a ceiling to how much strategic bidders can afford to pay. And Dollar General is set to report earnings, with three straight quarters either matching or beating the street. And Jim Cramer is taking a bigger piece of General Motors -- with shares in the mid-$30s now, Cramer is targeting $50 for GM stock.