Economic News Calendar from US nextweek

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

10:00 AM Consumer Confidence (The Conference Board)

Consumer expectations fell sharply in February. Then jobs declined for a second straight month. What was the impact on consumer attitudes?

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

8:30 AM Orders for Durable Goods (Bureau of the Census)

Orders, excluding transportation, have been very slow. Even if these orders increased by 1 percent in February, the up and down pattern would still leave "core" orders well below the level in December. This pattern could continue through the summer. And that means not enough new orders to sustain more than minimal increases in total industrial production.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

8:30 AM Gross Domestic Product & Corporate Profits (4Q — 2007) (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

There is not likely to be much revision to the estimate of a very weak 0.6 percent rise in GDP in the final quarter of last year. Growth is probably not much stronger in the first quarter and could be just as anemic in the second quarter.

10:00 AM Help-Wanted Advertising Index (The Conference Board)

Labor market indicators have been reflecting a very slow pace in hiring (below 50,000 jobs). Did any of this change in the latest survey period?

Friday, March 28, 2008

8:30 AM Personal Income and Outlays (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

Look for personal income to have risen a little faster (0.3-to-0.4 percent) than spending (perhaps no more than 0.2 percent). This is an important relationship. Nervous consumers are increasing spending more slowly than income. That won't change until consumer expectations perk up - certainly not before the summer at the earliest.

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