From Reuters.com
The day ahead: Wednesday
October orders for durable goods are expected to show a modest rise of 0.5 percent. If the forecast is correct, it would be the third rise in four months and show that demand was picking up for big-ticket items.
Other Highlights:
* It’s a big day for economic data with personal spending and income, consumer sentiment, new home sales and the weekly jobless claims on tap.
* Tiffany reports results that will show whether it has been able to sustain the improvement in sales it reported in August.
* Deere & Co reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and will provide investors with a preliminary glimpse into the coming year.
* At the Reuters India Investment Summit in Bangalore and Mumbai, speakers include top executives from Infosys Technologies, Wipro, SAP India, Mphasis and Mahindra Satyam.
The day ahead: Friday
JC Penney reports quarterly results, with investors primed for the department store operator to beat estimates as its rivals Macy’s and Kohl’s did earlier in the week.
Other highlights:
* Barack Obama makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems on a visit that recognizes the region’s economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.
* Google and a group representing authors and publishers face a Friday Department of Justice-set deadline to submit a revised agreement over modifications to a controversial electronic books licensing deal.
* Initial public offerings from Dollar General, a leading discount chain owned by KKR, and rue21, a fast growth youth apparel chain owned by Apax Partners, begin trading on the NYSE.
* On the economic front, expect international trade data and a preliminary reading on the November Reuters/University of Michigan sentiment index.
The day ahead: Friday
The stock market may get a boost from consumer sentiment data, which is expected to be higher from the “cash-for-clunkers” program.
* The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary reading of consumer sentiment for September is due at 9:55 a.m. EDT.
* Campbell Soup reports earnings for the fourth quarter. Watch for signs about how the soup business is doing against lower-priced competitors.
* An auction is scheduled in Delaware bankruptcy court for Nortel Network’s enterprise business.
* Revised figures are expected to confirm that while Japan’s economy emerged from its worst recession since World War Two this past spring, recovery will be slow and far from assured as much of it depends on stimulus measures that will eventually expire.
* Die-hard fans of Walt Disney are in California for the company’s first-ever fan exposition and what Disney hopes will be a show of the durability of its brands in a tough time.
