Other economic news this week

* Today, the Commerce Department will report on inventories at U.S. businesses in August. In July, stockpiles of unsold goods rose 0.2%.

* Wednesday, the Commerce Department will issue a report on starts of new housing construction in September. A month earlier, housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.531 million in August.

* Thursday, the Labor Department will release its weekly statistics on first-time unemployment claims. Some 306,000 claims were reported the previous week. A reading around 300,000 is considered consistent with a low national unemployment rate.

* Thursday, the Commerce Department will report on the trade deficit for August. Surging imports from Asia as well as higher oil prices are expected to widen the trade gap.