Wall Street is likely to focus on retail earnings and inflation and other data this week to get a read on whether the US economy is slowing enough to stave off recession and prompt the Federal Reserve to eventually lower interest rates.
The market is coming off an erratic week that ended quietly as investors, having digested results from US congressional elections last Tuesday, turned their attention to upcoming economic reports including minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting and the Labor Department's producer price index (PPI).
The retail reports -- as well as the Commerce Department's monthly retail sales report -- will be key, as two-thirds of economic growth is driven by consumers. Accordingly, Wall Street will eagerly await forecasts from retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp about the holiday sales season.
Investors hope the retail sales report as well as a reading of the PPI, which measures the wholesale cost of goods, will show an economy that is slowing adequately to help make a case for the Fed to lower short-term interest rates. The central bank left interest rates unchanged at its last three meetings, interrupting a string of 17 consecutive increases over two years.
Investors are often anxious for the latest economic data as they try to determine whether the Fed, as some market observers contend, overreached in its efforts to curb inflation and slowed the economy too quickly.
ECONOMIC DATA
The flow of economic news for the week is expected to start slowly, starting with the budget data from the Treasury Depart-ment yesterday and a bevy of information including Commerce Department data on retail sales as well as business inventories today.
The Labor Department is also set to release today the PPI and its core PPI, which excludes often volatile costs for energy and food. The figures are closely watched as investors look to the gauge the threat of inflation.
Tomorrow not only brings the Fed's October meeting minutes but a weekly Energy Department report on crude inventories.
On Thursday, investors can expect the Labor Department's consumer price index, the key measure of inflation. The core figure, like that of the producer price index, excludes food and energy costs.
The day also brings weekly data on initial unemployment claims as well as the Fed's report on industrial production and capacity utilization for October.
EARNINGS
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is expected to report today on third-quarter results of US$0.60 per share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Its stock, which closed at US$46.47 on Friday, has traded within a 52-week range of US$42.31 to US$52.15.
Rival Target Corp will also post results, which Wall Street has pinned at US$0.55 per share. The discount retailer's shares closed at US$57.94 on Friday, and have traded within a 52-week range of US$44.70 to US$60.34.
Also reporting today is Home Depot Inc. Analysts expect the home improvement chain to report third-quarter earnings of US$0.75 per share. Shares closed at US$36.64 on Friday.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique