A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:
MANUFACTURING BELLWETHER
The Federal Reserve issues its February snapshot of industrial production Tuesday.
Industrial production, which includes output from factories, mines and utilities, rose 0.9% in January from the previous month, but was 1.8% below production in January 2020, reflecting how American industry has yet to return to the pre-pandemic level of activity. Economists anticipate that industrial production was unchanged last month.
Industrial production, monthly percent change, seasonally adjusted:
Sept. -0.1
Oct. 1.1
Nov. 0.9
Dec. 1.3
Jan. 0.9
Feb. (est.) 0.0
Source: FactSet
EYE ON HOME CONSTRUCTION
New government data on residential construction should provide insight into the state of the new-home market.
The Commerce Department is expected to report Wednesday that builders broke ground on new apartments and single-family houses at a slightly slower pace in February than in the previous month. U.S. home construction slowed 6% in January to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.58 million units, as builders broke ground on fewer single-family houses, offsetting an increase in newly started apartments.
Housing starts, monthly, seasonally adjusted annual rate:
Sept. 1,437,000
Oct. 1,530,000
Nov. 1,553,000
Dec. 1,680,000
Jan. 1,580,000
Feb. (est.) 1,570,000
Source: FactSet
JUST DID IT
Wall Street expects another solid quarterly report card from Nike.
Analysts predict the athletic apparel company will report Thursday that its fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue increased from a year earlier. That would echo the company’s results in the previous two quarters. Nike has benefited from strong growth in China and higher online sales globally, which have helped offset weakness at physical stores.
