Fed to discuss rates; earnings reports due
Wall Street, often chided as an avenue of excess, might finally get its fill in the coming week.
Investors have spent much of the new year careening from one view to another about the health of the economy and the direction of the markets. In times when confidence doesn’t seem so fleeting, Wall Street’s penchant for fresh data isn’t as noticeable.
But investors could be forgiven for feeling dizzy over the forthcoming news: a statement from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate committee, a raft of economic figures and a crush of earnings reports.
Investors are hoping the figures and comments will help determine whether recent bouts of uncertainty about the direction of the markets have been warranted.
Last week, the Dow fell 0.5%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 0.5% and the Nasdaq composite index lost 0.7%. The indexes remain barely higher for the year.
Looming large on the week’s agenda will be the Fed’s first meeting of the year, a two-day affair that begins Tuesday. Although investors have long since given up hope for a cut in interest rates at the meeting, they will no doubt pounce on any signals that might reveal the central bank’s intentions for the future.
Recent economic data have left some investors with mixed feelings.
The Fed has left rates unchanged at its last four meetings, interrupting a string of 17 straight increases. The double-digit climb in stocks last year came amid enthusiasm over the strength of corporate earnings and a contention that the Fed would lower rates shortly into the new year. So the news in the coming week could help indicate whether stocks are poised to march higher.
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The week ahead
Today
* Treasury bill auction.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Mattel, Schering-Plough, Tyson Foods and Verizon Communications.
Tuesday
* Conference Board reports its monthly consumer confidence index.
* The Fed’s Open Market Committee meets to discuss interest rates, through Wednesday.
* Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on global climate change.
* Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on fuel economy.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Procter & Gamble, Allstate, American Electric Power, Burger King Holdings, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings, Colgate-Palmolive, JetBlue Airways, Kellogg, Merck, 3M, United Parcel Service, United States Steel, US Airways Group and Wyeth.
Wednesday
* Commerce Department reports on gross domestic product for the fourth quarter of 2006.
* Labor Department reports on employment cost index for the fourth quarter of 2006.
* Commerce Department reports on construction spending for January.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Google, Hilton Hotels, Altria Group, Boeing, Eastman Kodak, Eli Lilly, Kraft Foods, Media General, Starbucks, New York Times, Time Warner and Western Union.
Thursday
* Automakers release their sales figures for January.
* Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims.
* Commerce Department reports on personal income and spending for December.
* Freddie Mac reports on mortgage rates.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Electronic Arts, Amazon.com, Anheuser-Busch, Archer Daniels Midland, Comcast, CVS, Exxon Mobil, International Paper, Marathon Oil, Raytheon and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Friday
* Labor Department reports on employment for January.
* Quarterly earnings reports due from Chevron, Gannett, NYSE Group and Wendy’s International.
