Big-time corporate earnings, a potential writers’ strike in Hollywood, and the Fed makes a major decision on interest rates. Here are 3 things you need to know for the week ahead:

1. Markets are bracing for some major earnings. Apple (AAPL), Ford (F), Starbucks (SBUX), and AMC (AMC) are just a few of the top companies reporting quarterly results. Those will give us a fresh look at the health of American business.

2. Plus, Hollywood’s movie and TV writers could walk off the lot as early as Tuesday. The Writers Guild of America has voted in favor of a labor strike, giving studios until May 1 to agree on a deal. If a strike does occur, some of your favorite TV and film franchises could be delayed or even cut short.

3. And last but not least, the Federal Reserve makes its decision on whether to continue raising short term interest rates. Signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy could give the Fed reason enough to pause on their current rate hike policy. We’ll hear from Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday.

3.5 We’ve got you covered all week, right here at Yahoo Finance.

Video Transcript

JULIE HYMAN: We've got a huge week for investors-- big time corporate earnings, a potential writer's strike in Hollywood, and, oh, yeah, the Federal Reserve's got a major decision on interest rates. Here are the three things you need to know for the week ahead.

Markets are bracing for some major earnings. Apple, Ford, Starbucks, and AMC are just a few of the top companies reporting quarterly results. Those will give us a fresh look at the health of American business. Plus, Hollywood's movie and TV writers could walk off the lot as early as Tuesday. The Writers Guild of America has voted in favor of a labor strike, giving studios until May 1 to agree on a deal. If a strike occurs, production of some of your favorite TV and film franchises could be delayed.

And last, but definitely not least, the Federal Reserve makes its decision on whether to continue raising short-term interest rates. Signs of a slowdown in the US economy could give the Fed reason enough to pause on their current rate hike policy. We'll hear from Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday. We've got you covered all week right here at Yahoo Finance, and be sure to tune in to "After the Call" on Tuesday and Thursday for a breakdown of some of the big earnings reports.