25 years ago, I had the privilege of working with a very smart and well-respected strategist at a Wall Street sell-side firm.

My wife, Sari, and I have a long-standing disagreement about how warm our home should be.I contend that a man shouldn’t have to wear an overcoat in his own house just to ward off frostbite.

There’s an old saying that the reason some people bash their heads against the wall is because it feels so good when they stop. Many economists would see last week’s trade news in the same light, judging that Brexit, the threatened abandonment of NAFTA and the trade war with China were all populist-driven negatives for the global economy.

For investors, the market environment seems to be in a holding pattern, with little movement in economic fundamentals and a slow melt up in equity prices. For those trying to while away the time until there is some genuine change, there are some key questions that will be addressed by events in the week ahead.

The week ahead will be a busy one for economic data, with global PMI numbers on both manufacturing and services and U.S. readings on Light-Vehicle Sales, International Trade and Consumer Sentiment. However, as is usually the case in the first week of the month, the most important numbers will be contained in Friday's Jobs report.

This week, most Americans will be hopefully be focused on family and food rather than the economy and markets. However, at some stage over the long weekend, a few may decide that they have had a sufficient helping of both pie and relatives and be looking for a distraction.