The Week Ahead...

Housing will be front and center heading into Friday's Christmas. Tuesday will see the release of existing home sales where growth, held down by lack of homes on the market, has been soft. Data on home prices have been mixed but the FHFA report, also released on Tuesday, has been showing life with a year-on-year rate over 6 percent. New home sales, where sales have been very choppy and modest overall, will be posted on Wednesday with the Econoday consensus calling for a respectable 1.6 percent rise. Personal income and outlays will also be posted Wednesday in a report that is expected to show only modest gains and only a 0.1 percent rise for the core PCE price index which is the Fed's most important inflation reading. Durable goods orders, held down by weak foreign demand and weakness in energy equipment, are not expected to show strength in data also released on Wednesday. Jobless claims, where data can be very choppy during the holidays, will round out the shortened week out on Thursday.