Wall Street to Watch Testimony, Reports

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan’s testimony before Congress this week will be closely watched by investors and others, who are trying to see signs of an improving economy and company profits while the threat of war looms.

Among economic data to be released this week, investors will be looking at weekly jobless claims and industrial capacity and the January retail sales report on Thursday and a University of Michigan poll on consumer confidence Friday.

Industrial capacity in January is expected to have risen to 75.6%, up two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month, according to economists polled by Reuters.

For the week ended Saturday, jobless claims are expected to have fallen by 2,000 to 389,000, while the University of Michigan’s poll is expected to show a preliminary read on consumer sentiment in February declined to 81.2 from 82.4.

Companies have provided hazy outlooks for the year, citing Iraq and the uncertainty it poses for the economy and corporate planning.

Among the companies to report earnings this week are Applied Materials Inc. on Tuesday, Coca-Cola Co., Viacom Inc. and News Corp. on Wednesday, and Dell Computer Corp. on Thursday.

Other economic reports this week:

* Thursday, Labor Department will report on import prices in January.

* Friday, Commerce Department will report on December business inventories.