News junkies: Get ready for what is shaping up to be a truly epic week.

It falls broadly into three main categories.

1. Hurricane Sandy. The Frankenstorm that has consumed the media (in part because it's historic and in part because it's barreling straight for the center of the media) is going to be a story that dominates the first half of the week, at least. The actual storm isn't expected to make landfall until Monday, but storms will be brutal before then, and the impacts thereafter will be determined by how badly heavily populated areas of New York and New Jersey get hit.

2. The Presidential Race. This is it! This is the final week before it's all over. Candidates will be furiously criss-crossing swing states (Ohio, mostly). Every poll number will be covered and dissected obsessively. The Hurricane is a bit of a wrench thrown into the campaign, as some states have already canceled early voting, and if there are long-term power outages, then some interesting questions will be raised about what happens on election day.

3. The Economy. There is TONS of economic data this week, as there always in during the first week of the new month.

Here's a quick overview:

Monday, October 29:

Personal Income & Spending

Tuesday, October 30:

Case Shiller Home Price Index Consumer Confidence

Wednesday, October 31:

ADP Jobs Report Chicago PMI Chinese PMI (PMI day begins in Asia)