NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - After briefly biding its time in the background, the evil stock sapper Inflation and its trusty sidekick, Higher Interest Rates, have popped back into focus, sending investors running.

That was certainly the case last week, when the Federal Reserve boosted a key short-term interest rate for the 14th consecutive time and implied it wasn't quite done yet.

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On top of that, oil prices bobbed back above $69 a barrel last week amid geopolitical worries, business productivity in the fourth quarter slowed, and the otherwise upbeat January jobs report showed a tight labor market paired with rising wages.

Plus, Google and Amazon.com joined the list of tech companies disappointing investors with their earnings.

The combined effect of all this was to send markets lower, both good and bad news for the week ahead, analysts say. The big selloff at the end of last week could mean stocks are primed to bounce early next week, particularly as the earnings and economic calendar is light.

But the weakness could also be something of a "Welcome to February" sign, as investors dive into what is typically a weak month on Wall Street.

"February is usually the worst month in what is generally a good six-month period for stocks," said Paul H. Levine, president at Lifetime Financial Strategies.

Typically, February is the second worst month of the year for the S&P 500, with an average loss of 1 percent since 1950, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

February is more of a mixed month for the Dow industrials and the Nasdaq, falling in the middle of the 12 months in terms of its performance.

This seasonal impact is coinciding with a renewed awareness about the threats of inflation, intensifying the pressure on stocks. "Inflation's been there all along, but it's becoming recognized again as a significant threat," Levine added.

And it had all seemed like such a nice start to the year. January was decent, with the S&P 500 rising 2.5 percent. Earnings growth has been solid, and despite last week's hiccups, many other economic data have been upbeat.

"It's not that everything is perfect," said Ken Tower, chief market strategist at CyberTrader. "But the overall tone of the economy and the level of both consumer and corporate confidence is quite high."

That's why it's "disheartening that the major averages are basically back to where they were around Thanksgiving," he added.

While the small and mid-cap stocks have done well year-to-date, and are likely to continue doing well in the short term, the large caps have been holding back.

Tower said that he is not bearish about the next week, but is concerned longer term.

The week ahead brings a smattering of economic reports, highlighted by Friday's December trade balance report.

Earnings are due from a few widely traded companies, including Disney, Coca-Cola and Cisco Systems.

So far, those earnings that have beaten estimates have generally been beneficial for the underlying stock, rather than the broader market. So the earnings in the week ahead may not give the market much of a boost.

"Despite many positive corporate earnings reports, investors should be prepared for some choppy or sideways trading over the near term," wrote Spencer Clarke's chief market strategist Michael Sheldon in a note Friday. Beyond that, market conditions should improve, he added.

• Dow component Walt Disney (Research) reports earnings after the close Monday. The media company is expected to have earned 30 cents per share, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call, down from 34 cents in the 2004 period.
• Coca-Cola (Research) reports earnings Tuesday morning. The Dow component is expected to post profit of 44 cents per share, down from 46 cents a year earlier.
• Cisco Systems (Research), due after the close Tuesday, is seen reporting a profit of 25 cents per share, up from 22 cents in the prior-year period.
• Aetna (Research), reporting Thursday, is projected for income of $1.23 per share, up from 91 cents a year earlier.
• Wholesale inventories, due Thursday, are forecast to have grown by 0.4 percent in December, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Inventories rose 0.4 percent in November.
• The December trade balance, due Friday, is seen having widened to $64.5 billion in December from $64.2 billion in November.

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