Preview
MONDAY
Income Up: Economists expect Americans’ personal incomes to have risen an average of 0.4% in January while their spending rose 0.2% as the Commerce Department releases its monthly report on income and spending. Meanwhile, national figures on January construction spending are expected to register a 0.4% gain after rising 1.7% in December. In manufacturing, the National Assn. of Purchasing Management publishes its index of manufacturing activity across the U.S. in February, and it will probably show that heavy industry is on the mend. Economists expect February’s index to rise to 49.7 after January’s 49.5 reading. The NAPM index has stayed below 50 since June.
Intel Investment: Computer chip giant Intel Corp. is expected to announce today that it’s buying a multimillion-dollar stake in VA Research, a maker of business computers, in a move that strengthens Intel’s investment in a rival operating system to Microsoft’s Windows NT, industry sources say. Mountain View-based VA Research makes computers that run on Linux, a well-regarded version of the Unix operating system used by businesses to run computer networks and Internet sites. The announcement will be made the day before Linux World--the first big trade show devoted to Linux--begins.
* About 1,000 business leaders are expected to attend the sixth annual Jupiter Consumer Online Forum, beginning today through Wednesday in New York. USA Networks Inc.’s Barry Diller, Yahoo Inc.’s Jerry Yang, @Home Corp.’s Thomas Jermoluk and others will discuss how traditional media companies can profit in an online world.
Eye on Albertson’s: Albertson’s Inc.’s next earnings report, expected today, is likely to draw close scrutiny from investors looking for assurance that its planned purchase of Lucky Stores operator American Stores Co. is on track. Albertson’s shares have fallen 15% since December on concern that the acquisition may be delayed as the Boise, Idaho-based supermarket company wrestles with how many stores it must sell to meet antitrust concerns. Albertson’s is expected to earn 77 cents a share in the fourth quarter, compared with 71 cents last year.
TUESDAY
Bias Suit Deadline: About 900 women are expected to file claims by today in a class-action sex discrimination settlement with Merrill Lynch & Co. The case was brought by eight women Merrill brokerage employees who said they were discriminated against when departing brokers’ accounts were parceled out among other brokers. They also said they were penalized for taking maternity leave and overlooked for promotions. The suit attained class-action status covering 2,900 women and was settled in September. The plaintiffs’ lawyers say about 900 are planning to file claims by the deadline, after which each case will be reviewed separately to determine damages.
Driving for a Record: This week major auto makers report sales for February, with Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler releasing their figures today. Most auto makers reported unexpectedly strong double-digit gains in January, and February sales are likely to remain high. Last month, Ford said U.S. sales rose 8.9% to a January record. And DaimlerChrysler saw a 18.7% rise in January sales, excluding sales of Mercedes-Benzes. That was also a record for January.
WEDNESDAY
Banana Drama: The United States will press ahead with its plans to impose sanctions on the European Union over banana exports. The United States has called a meeting today of the World Trade Organization’s dispute body to seek approval for a program of punitive import tariffs on goods from Europe.
GM Report: General Motors Corp., the world’s largest auto maker, will release its report on February auto sales. Last month, GM car sales reached 164,196, an increase of 10.3%. Light-truck sales fell 3.8% to 142,360.
THURSDAY
Venture Capitalists Unite: Los Angeles today will be the site of one of the largest investment and venture capital conferences. The Los Angeles Venture Assn. hopes to match more than $75 billion in available capital to development-stage, emerging-growth and middle-market companies at its sixth annual Investment Capital Conference at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.
FRIDAY
More Jobs: The U.S. economy is expected to have added jobs at a rapid pace in February, driving total employment growth over the last four months above the 1 million mark, analysts said. The Labor Department’s jobs report for last month will probably also show that the nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, tying a nearly 30-year low. The number of non-farm jobs is expected to have risen by 240,000 in February. That would follow gains of 245,000 jobs in January, 298,000 in December and 270,000 in November.
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