A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
EYE ON CONSUMERS
U.S. consumers have been feeling increasingly confident this year about the economy.
The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence climbed to 137.9 in October, the highest reading since September 2000. Consumers’ spirits have been lifted by a strong labor market that has helped reduce U.S. unemployment to a five-decade low of 3.7 percent. The consumer confidence index for November is due out Tuesday.
Consumer confidence, by month:
June 127.1
July 127.9
Aug. 134.7
Sept. 135.3
Oct. 137.9
Nov. (est.) 136.9
Source: FactSet
SLOWER GROWTH?
Economists project that the U.S. economy grew at a slower rate in the third quarter.
They expect the Commerce Department will report Wednesday that America’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5 percent in the July-September period. That would be down from the 4.2 percent GDP growth recorded in the second quarter.
GDP, seasonally adjusted annual rate, by quarter:
Q2 2017: 3.0
Q3 2017: 2.8
Q4 2017: 2.3
Q1 2018: 2.2
Q2 2018: 4.2
Q3 2018 (est.): 3.5
Source: FactSet
CLOSE-UP ON THE FED
The Federal Reserve issues on Thursday the minutes of a two-day meeting of its policymakers last month.
At the meeting, the panel left the central bank’s key interest rate unchanged, but signaled that it planned to keep responding to the strong U.S. economy with more rate hikes as it seeks to control inflation. The Fed is expected next month to raise interest rates for the fourth time this year.
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