One mega-trend that investors simply can’t afford to ignore is the millennials. It literally doesn’t get more “next generation” than that! You’ve probably heard plenty about this group, and it might not all have been good. Millennials tend to get a bad rap for being entitled, dependent on their parents and tech-obsessed. But this group is also resourceful, creative and entrepreneurial-minded. After all, these are the people who made blogging into a more lucrative career than banking! Any investor who dismisses the importance of millennials to the economy and the stock market is crazy.

The next earnings season gets rolling in just a couple of days, and it’s a big one. For decades, Alcoa (AA) was the unofficial leadoff hitter of each quarterly reporting season, but that company changed its schedule a year ago and now the financials are first up. Healthy financials are a must for a healthy market, so let’s take a look at what to expect and where the biggest profit potential is. (Hint: It’s not where Wall Street is looking.) If you follow the financial news at all, you know there’s an obsession with interest rates. As interest they increase, banks make more money on what they lend, which in turn boosts the bottom line.