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.

D.R. Horton, the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, reports its fourth quarter and fiscal year results. Investors will listen for any comments on the builder’s order trends and commentary as they try to discern whether the nascent housing market recovery will buoy the new home sector.

Other Highlights:

*  Nortel assets hit the auction block. Nokia Siemens Networks and private equity firm One Equity Partners have jointly bid for Nortel Networks Corp’s optical networking and carrier ethernet business, a person familiar with the sale said on Wednesday.

*  The Bank of Japan announces the decision of its two-day policy board meeting.

Dell reports quarterly results for the first time as the No. 3 maker of personal computers — unfamiliar territory for a company that not so long ago was the world’s largest PC maker.

Other Highlights:

*  In what promises to be a fiery debate, the Senate Banking Committee begins discussion on Committee Chair Christopher Dodd’s Restoring American Financial Stability Act, a comprehensive bill to reform the financial system.

*  Also in Washington, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies on financial regulatory reform before the Joint Economic Committee.

*  Quarterly results are expected from Gap, Sears, AnnTaylor and Children’s Place.

Home Depot reports quarterly earnings. The top home improvement chain has been banking on a slow-but-steady growth strategy and cost cuts to fight lackluster demand for big-ticket remodeling projects.

Other highlights:

*  Brian Moynihan, on the short-list of CEO candidates at Bank of America, is expected to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing.

*  Target has reported eight consecutive declines in quarterly profit but it may break that streak with its third quarter results.

*  Producer prices are expected to have risen 0.5 percent in October after an unexpected 0.6 percent in September, which was largely driven by a 2.4 percent decline in energy prices. Economists expect industrial output data to show production inched up.

*  At the Reuters Finance Summit we speak with former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, HSBC North America CEO Brendan McDonagh, Nomura COO of Americas Takeo Sumino, and Hudson City Bancorp CEO Ronald Hermance.

Wal-Mart sales numbers will hold the spotlight along with results from Walt Disney and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Highlights:

*   Wal-Mart is expected to report higher third-quarter earnings, but Wall Street is focused on U.S. sales, which the retailer has stopped reporting on a monthly basis.

*  Walt Disney is expected to report earnings of 41 cents per share and further emphasize a recovery in advertising sales seen at the cable networks of competitors Time Warner and Viacom.

*  Anheuser-Busch InBev is braced to report a decline in consumption of its beers such as Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s, weighing on profits in the first half.

*  At the fourth day of the Reuters Health Summit being held in New York, we speak with FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, GlaxoSmithKline CEO Andrew Witty, and Schering-Plough CEO Fred Hassan.

*  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner arrives in Singapore for a meeting of finance ministers from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

At the Reuters Health Summit expect exclusive interviews from the CEO’s of Pfizer, Humana and Novo Nordisk.

* On the earnings front, department store Macy’s and chip equipment maker Applied Materials report results.

* The stock and futures markets will be open on the U.S. holiday Veterans Day.

At the Reuters Health Summit expect exclusive interviews with Merck CEO Richard Clark, AstraZeneca CEO David Brennan and Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter.

Other highlights:

* Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner begins a two-day official visit to Japan ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation finance ministers’ meeting in Singapore on Thursday.

* Diversified U.S. manufacturer Tyco International reports third-quarter results. Wall Street expects another drop in profit as the ongoing soft economy saps demand for industrial products.

Employers likely cut payrolls by the least amount in 14 months in October, as the economy’s revival boosted optimism, but the jobless rate is seen touching a fresh 26-year high.

Other highlights:

* Three days after unveiling its $26 billion buyout of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reports results.

* AIG, the bailed out insurer, is expected to post its second-straight quarterly profit, helped once more by improvement in asset values.

Sales results will pour in from a wide range of chain retailers, while investors who bought media shares on hopes for an ad comeback will look to CBS for guidance.

*Chain stores ranging from J.C. Penney to Target to Gap report their October monthly sales results.

*Starbucks reports fiscal fourth quarter results. After months of slashing costs and closing stores, the coffee chain’s turnaround appears to be at hand.

*On the economic front, more strength is forecast for productivity in the third quarter, with the Labor Department scheduled to issue preliminary nonfarm productivity and costs data at 8:30 a.m. EST.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate where it has been since December — near zero — when it concludes a policy meeting this week.

*  Results from Kraft will go a long way to answering the big question investors have regarding its offer to buy British chocolatier Cadbury: will it raise its bid, and if so, by how much?

*  Major automakers release sales results for October. Analysts and executives say industry-wide sales are tracking to hit their highest rate of the year — apart from July and August when results were turbocharged by the U.S. government’s Cash for Clunkers program.

*  At the second day of the Reuters Autos Summit being held in Detroit and Paris we speak with United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and Daimler AG Head of Trucks Division Andreas Renschler.