Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Chief Executive Officer John Mack will step down and be replaced by Co-President James Gorman, who has been running the company’s brokerage and overseeing its merger with Citigroup Inc.’s (NYSE: C) Smith Barney unit.

Is this the beginning of a new bull market or just a last-gasp bear market rally? We just don’t know. We’ve got a hunch is all. According to value investing guru David Dremen, it doesn’t matter much, either.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday following another string of stronger-than-expected quarterly corporate profits, a broker upgrade for General Electric Co , and fresh indications that the global economic downturn is easing.

Retail investors had a rough go of things in the first half, but since the March lows of all the markets, the Standard & Poor’s Retail Index is showing progress toward its 52-week high of 427.13.

Gold fell in Europe on Wednesday and platinum dropped below $1,100 an ounce for the first time since May 18 as the dollar firmed against the euro, making precious metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Fed’s Beige Book Shows Downturn Slowing; Home Depot Says Worst Is Over; ReFi Apps Slowest Since November; Senate Mulls Bigger Home Loan Tax Credit; U.S. Becomes Largest Shareholder in Citi; Rising Energy Costs Could Stunt Global Recovery; Top Economist Considering Senate Run

Markets salute mounting unemployment figures, Resources and euros: just two alternatives for the Chinese dragon, What happens when rates go up again? And three other ticking time bombs…

Is the hoped-for economic rebound merely a mirage? And if it is, how should you play it? For the past few months, optimistic analysts and investors have been scouring the global economy for so-called “green shoots” – a new financial buzzword that refers to any early indicators of a financial recovery.

By sucking the air out of energy prices and sapping private investment, the financial crisis submarined solar energy last fall. But a silver lining has emerged around the dark cloud that has blanketed the sector for so long.

This is the first major report coming out this week, and could have a real impact on the markets. Expectations are for a decline in sales since last month, albeit at a slower rate than previous months.